Mercury
by thesupersonicwoman
Summary: No one can truly anticipate their future. They can try their best to prepare for it, but in the end, it still won't make a difference. Ava Douglass is thrown into a whole different future she never anticipated being in, and now she must learn how to accept whatever will come her way.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so this won't be long cause I imagine it can be annoying seeing Author's Notes and no one pays much attention to them, but for those actually bothering to read em, I will say this:**

 **1\. First timer. Hi.**

 **2\. This story is central to Spider-Man-verse within the MCU and it'll eventually branch out further into MCU (and potentially farther) as the story progresses.**

 **3\. There will be crossovers, but I categorized this story as only Spider-Man since that's the world it all starts to take place in.**

 **Enjoy.**

"' _Menace Strikes Again.'_ "

The headline screams at Peter, although Ava is unaware of the fact.

"You'd think the Bugle would have more important things to write about. This yellow journalism shit gets pretty tiring, pretty fast." Ava says, tossing the newspaper on the coffee table. Ava isn't exactly a groupie, but she sure as hell is quick to defend the masked hero.

This has become a rarity for Peter and Ava. There is hardly ever enough time for the two to spend time together, mostly because Peter works to support his aunt with the rent and the freelancing for the Bugle and his nerdy internships. Ava on the other hand, doesn't have much of a life except for her job at the diner and showing up to her classes. Sure, she goes to practically every party, but she's not exactly at the top of the social ladder. Or at the middle of it. Probably not even on the ladder at all. She just loves a good distraction.

"Why don't you marry the web slinger?" Peter teases, gathering his notes that are scattered across the bedroom floor. The hot headed girl was quick to slap her friend's arm (a little too forcefully).

"I wouldn't want to make you jealous." She says. Peter only scoffs in response. Ava rolls her eyes.

"Good luck on tomorrow's test." Peter says. He slings his bag over his back as he gets up from the floor. Lately, all of his movements have become more fluid. It reminds Ava of a dancer. Like a ballerina or something.

"Thanks. I would wish you luck, but you're a genius." She smiles, gathering the strands of unruly curls that fell out of her bun and tucking them back in.

"Oh Ava… you're totally right." The grin slapped on his face keeps Ava from swatting at him again. "You know, you look better with your hair down."

"I prefer practicality over aesthetic."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya tonight." And with that, he's out the door.

They live next door to each other, but it doesn't stop them from occasionally Skyping each other. Peter hates being lonely and Ava is haunted by her past. They discovered that it helps to be in each other's company.

"What are you reading?" Peter asks. Ava finishes the paragraph that she was on and looks over at the computer screen to see that Peter had paused his game and was staring at her.

" _Pale Blue Dot_ by Carl Sagan." She responds, clearing her throat before continuing, "it's about the future course of space exploration."

"What'd you highlight?"

"Hm? Oh. Uh, alright. 'So the lovely comets that on occasion rouse us humans to wonder and to awe, that crater the surfaces of inner planets and outer moons, and that now and then endanger life on Earth would be unknown and unthreatening had Uranus and Neptune not grown to be giant worlds four and a half billion years ago.'" Ava looked back up to see that Peter still kept his eyes on her. "It's uh. It just reminded me of the last time I saw a comet. And I remember I made a wish and then it came true, but it wasn't as magical as I'd thought it be."

Peter had this strange smile, one that was gentle and careful. His brown eyes were strange too.

"How's MJ?" Ava quickly changes the subject, not being able to stand the look on Peter's face.

He finally did break away, going back to his game. "MJ's good. She's auditioning for this play in a few days and she's really confident that she'll get it.

"You know, you've become strangely addicted to space ever since The Accident."

"Everyone's looking for answers."

After that, the conversation faltered until they returned to their own separate activities. A lot of their Skype calls didn't consist of conversation, but rather silence. It was a nice way of coexisting.

Peter and Ava didn't meet until two years ago in the spring. The two were paired up in their chemistry class for a lab. They ended up failing thanks to Ava, but it was that failure that initiated the after school study sessions which blossomed into the two spending nearly every waking moment together. Ava was awkward and Peter was an asshole. They were like pickle and ice cream, two completely unrelated foods that would never taste good together. It still doesn't make much sense as to how they get along, actually.

Suddenly, Peter's body went stiff.

"What's wrong with your face? It looks like you're constipated, man." Ava laughs, but stops as soon as she realizes that something is seriously off about her friend. "Peter?"

"I gotta go." He rushes, abruptly ending the Skype call. Ava would consider this strange if this hasn't happened before, but lately it's becoming more and more frequent. Ever since his uncle had passed away, Peter's behavior had took a turn for the worse. It was understandable to be closed off after losing an important father figure, one that Ava also looked up to, but it seemed like every fiber of Peter's being was altered soon after the loss.

She could hear Peter trip outside as he struggled to get on his bike and peddle away.

"That's cool… catch ya later." Ava retorts, although it's only to herself at this point.

"Are you going crazy?"

Ava's little brother, Grant, peaked his head into her room. The unruly child was the spitting image of their father before his blood turned into alcohol. It was almost painful to look into those innocent gray eyes and see the devil taunt her, waiting to turn Grant into a monster too.

"Just a little bit, kiddo." Ava sighed, closing her laptop shut. Ava usually leaves it on so that Peter could call her back, but when weird episodes like that happens, she never hears from him until the following day at school.

It's then that Ava's father, Marcus, appears at the doorway, stumbling over his words so badly that they're not even coherent. Tonight, he's been downing a cheap bottle of wine. It's gotten to the point that Ava could decipher what type of mood her father is in depending on what's in his bear hands.

"I'll run the bath." She looks to Grant, meaning that it's time for him to go bed. They've developed a secret code told only by the way that they look at each other. Ava tries her hardest to keep the eleven year old from seeing too much ugly in the household.

While Grant runs off to his room, Ava guides her father to his own. The man stumbles along the way but at least his legs haven't given out yet.

"I used to be the best." Marcus gets out.

"Yes, dad." Ava nods.

"Hockey was my life." He continues, belching out the word "life." In any other given situation, that would've been laughable, but to Ava, this is all just pathetic.

"Did you know we was gonna name you Zelda? Ya mom thought the meaning behind it was beautiful, but I fucking saved you from humiliation. You're welcome." Marcus almost looked fond when he said these words, but Ava knew that any mention of her mother meant walking on eggshells.

Wordlessly, Ava helped her father get in the tub and turn on the water. Marcus's dirtied clothes stuck to his frail body. He's lost a lot of weight over the years. The weight has slowly started coming back though after the drinking got worse.

"I love you, Avery Douglass." Her father smiles up at her before finishing the bottle and dropping it on the carpeted floor.

Ava doesn't stay any longer than she needs to.

The next day, Ava doesn't see Peter at school. While Midtown is all abuzz about a flying goblin and a bloodied superhero, she spends her class periods worrying over Peter. During lunch, she scanned the cafeteria for his messy curls, but he wasn't there.

"Pete not here?" Harry Osborn inquires as Ava dumps her lunch tray on top of the table.

Harry and Ava never really ran in the same circles until she had befriended Peter. Ava never really expected to get along with a guy like Harry considering their upbringings, but thankfully there was never any prejudice between the two.

"Nope. He seemed off last night too." Ava says, taking measly bites from her tray.

"He told me he came down with something this morning." MJ Watson cut in, sitting down next to Harry. Almost immediately, any attention that Harry had given to Ava had shifted to MJ.

"That's a shame. I was looking forward to movie night." He says.

"I don't see why we still can't." MJ shrugs. "I'll be stopping by Pete's first, though. I want to drop off some soup and see how he's doing."

"Sounds like a plan." Harry smiles.

 _It's like I don't exist_ , Ava thinks to herself.

"Do you still need a ride then, MJ?" Ava speaks up, looking between the two friends.

"I could send in a car for you." Harry offers.

"That's okay, playboy," MJ laughs, "It's easier anyways if Ava takes me considering we live right down the street from each other."

MJ and Ava have been friends since elementary school. Before Peter, MJ's house was a safe haven for her. It was only MJ and her mom, but they were the first people to accept Ava as family. MJ's mother oftentimes watches Grant when Ava gets called in for work. Grant even secretly considers her as his mother although the one time he voiced this, Ava told him to never say that again.

Lunch went by pretty fast once Ava was engaged in conversation with two of the three of her closest friends. If only the other hadn't ditched. Ava knows a lie when she hears one, but it was best to not bring that to MJ's attention. For whatever reason it was, it must be a good one as to why Peter had lied to his girlfriend.

After the final bell rang, Ava rushed to her car and cranked up the heat as far as it could go whilst waiting for MJ. As much as Ava loves winter, she also can't stand it.

"Hey, sorry, Harry needed some help with AP Chem." MJ apologizes as she gets in the passenger seat.

The car ride back home isn't filled with much conversation, but instead, obnoxious singing.

Once Ava parks her Chevelle SS on MJ's driveway, the latter makes a mad dash to the front door and quickly grabs the soup she had made for Peter. Ava takes her brown hair out of the bun it had been in all day and shakes it out, trying to make it look less like a birds nest while leaning against the black automobile.

"I'll kill him if he doesn't eat this." MJ says, coming back out and already zooming down the driveway.

"That might be what kills him." Ava jokes.

It was Peter's Aunt May who answered the door upon the red head's wild knocking.

"Oh, what a nice surprise!" Aunt May smiled, welcoming the two girls into the Parker household. "And so nice of you young ladies to bring Peter chicken noodle soup! He's been holed up in his room all day trying to sleep the fever off."

"Is there any improvement?" Ava asks.

"I'm sure he'll feel better by tomorrow." Aunt May responds.

MJ hands her the container and heads up the stairs to Peter's bedroom. Ava follows, taking her time as she admires the picture frames on the walls. There's one of when Peter was a baby, giving a toothy grin as he's being held by his parents, another of when he was six and working on a school project with his Uncle Ben, twelve and proudly displaying the trophy he and Harry had won in the science fair project, fifteen and all lanky limbs awkwardly having one arm draped over a fifteen year old girl with pale skin stretched over her own pair of lanky limbs and a mop of curls resting on her head, seventeen and grown with an outstretched arm holding the camera so that he could get his three friends in the picture. The last picture was new. Ava recognizes how much all of them had changed. Peter is no longer lanky, but lean; MJ lost the knobby knees and instead gained stunning model legs; Harry traded the Captain America shirts and the cow lick for high end clothing and tastefully styled hair; Ava may still have frizz, but her face had lost its fat and instead gained it in her body, no more looking like she was mere skin and bones.

Snapping out of it, Ava continued up the steps. MJ knocked on the door and Peter coughed roughly in response.

"I'm fine, Aunt May!" Peter called out hoarsely.

"It's MJ and Ava." The redhead responded, looking at Ava with these big and sad blue eyes. "Can we come in?"

"Oh, uh. Not a good idea." He says before falling into a fit of coughs. "I'm, uh… indecent? And I don't wanna get you guys sick, it's best that I stay in quarantine."

"Right, okay" MJ says, "Well, we better get going now, Pete, but I better see you at school tomorrow! And eat the soup I made you! Love you, Tiger."

"Love you too, Mary Jane." They could just hear the smile on his face when he said that.

MJ is already down the stairs, but Ava doesn't show any signs of following her friend just yet. Ava doesn't bother with proper mannerisms and instead barges into Peter's room.

For once, the room is a pigsty. The teen is pretty good at keeping an impeccable living space, but there's dirty clothes littering the floor and papers strewn about with complicated equations covering every corner of them and crushed cans of energy drinks. Peter himself is tucked into bed, the covers hiding his whole entire body upon Ava walking in.

"Avery!" Peter exclaims.

"You're a shit liar," is all Ava says to him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He states, voice slightly muffled from being covered by his blankets.

Ava doesn't bother with getting into a back-and-forth with him so she stands over his bed and yanks at his covers. Peter has an iron grip on them, causing one sheet to actually tear.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Peter Benjamin! Just let me see your face!" Ava hissed, tugging one more time before Peter gives up. It practically knocks Ava off her feet and she staggers back a few steps. Either way, she's defiant in being the one that won. That was, until she got a good look at Peter's face. "Oh shit," She whispers, "What the hell happened, Peter?"

Peter's face looked like it went through a war zone. He had small cuts on his left eyebrow, colorful bruises on his right eye and cheek, a split lip, and a bruised neck from what seems like an attempt was made at choking him.

"Symptoms of the flu?" He chuckled weakly, wincing afterwards. The hoarseness of his voice came from the damage done to his throat.

The terrifying part is that this isn't the first time Ava has seen Peter beaten up, but it's never been this bad. She fears what the rest of his body looks like.

"Peter, what are you getting yourself into? The fucking Fight Club?" Ava throws her hands up in the air, exasperated. "For whatever reason, you're even lying to MJ about this and if I don't go downstairs in the next five seconds she'll come up here, so we're gonna talk about this later."

"Thank you." He says.

"Oh, I'm not doing it to save you from getting more bruises, I'm doing it so she doesn't end up going to jail." Ava nods, walking out of his room and carefully closing the door behind her despite wanting to slam it. Her hands are shaking so badly that she shoves them in her pockets to try to conceal them.

Once Ava got downstairs and was met with MJ's questioning look, she merely responded with, "I tried to lure the turtle out of his shell, but to no avail. Let's go."

They bid Aunt May a good night and walk across the Parker's lawn to quickly get to Ava's car.

The girls begin to discuss what movie they should watch at Harry's on the way there considering there was no way in hell that they would allow Harry to pick a movie unless they wanted to turn it into a snoozefest. In the back of her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about the large hand shaped bruise on Peter's neck.

Movie night ended in the three passed out on the couch, limbs intertwined together in some way. It was Ava that woke up at nearly two in the morning.

Detaching herself from Harry and MJ, she walked to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. The cool drink was refreshing, but it also seemed to help jog her memory of what occurred in the previous hours. Ava checks her phone and sees that Peter had left her a text message.

 _Are you up?_

It was sent over a little of an hour ago.

 _Am now. I'm coming over and we're talking._

Peter responded in seconds: _Wtf no. Don't._

 _Shut up, yes. Be there in thirty._

Ava leaves a note on the counter saying that her father had called her to come back home so as not to worry Harry and MJ when they woke up for school. It wasn't rare for these sleepovers to happen and her father yelling at her to come back home so it seems like a credible enough lie. Once, he even showed up at the doorstep, practically dragging Ava out of the impressive house.

Getting to Peter's house faster than expected, she notices him on the roof as she gets out the car. He doesn't look her way when hearing the car door shut, although he did slightly tense up before relaxing his limbs again.

Ava unlocks the front door with her own spare key that Aunt May had given her, trying her best to not make any noise. The house is so peaceful all of the time. It's a stark contrast to Ava's own home.

She makes her way to Peter's room and shimmies her way out of the narrow window and climbs onto the roof. It's a miracle as to how Peter and Ava can still manage to get up there without getting stuck now that they're older. Finding solace by being up on the roof was always something Peter had done and Ava eventually ended up accompanying him once they started talking.

Once Ava settles down next to Peter and a few moments of silence has passed, she decides to speak up. "Is the internship at Oscorp even real?"

" _Avery._ Yes." Peter looks over at her, bewildered. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because I don't know what's going on, Peter! You'll disappear and then suddenly reappear except that this time, your body is just covered in cuts and bruises and one time, burn marks. Don't think I didn't notice, I did.

"I know that things have tough for you this year-"

"Don't."

" _But_ whatever it is you're getting into isn't worth it, Peter."

"You don't understand."

"No, no I don't. Help me understand. You're lying to me, to Harry, to MJ, to your aunt… You don't have to go through this alone. I was alone when my mom died and it sucked. Hell, you were the only person there for me after Elanore… let someone be there for you."

Peter didn't respond for a long time it seemed like, just staring off into the distance trying to get his thoughts together. "Avery, I… I just. I can't."

"Yes, you can. Tell me."

"I can't. I really can't tell you." His brown eyes looked at Ava pleadingly. Ava knows that pushing Peter for the truth would go nowhere.

"Whatever, Petey. I guess this was a waste of time." Ava sighed, moving to get down from the roof, but Peter held onto her forearm.

"Stay."

The two remained silent, Peter resting against Ava as she held him. Eventually, the two found themselves in Peter's bedroom watching Your Lie In April until they passed out. If it wasn't for Ava's alarm on her phone going off, they never would've woken up for school one hour later.


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since the destruction caused by the battle between what the citizens of New York City are calling the Green Goblin and Spider-Man, media outlets have begun taking sides of whether masked vigilantes such as Spider-Man are good or bad. It's the only topic that the students of Midtown High seem to be talking about, much to the annoyment of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. Namely because Peter is for Spidey and Harry wants to step on the wall crawler.

"I mean, really, do you know how much it costs to repair all that damage!" Harry says.

"You only care because your dad's building got a little scratch on it during the showdown." Peter smiled, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"A little scratch! The south side of the building is completely wrecked, Parker!"

"He-e-y, guys!" Ava sits in between the two, just narrowly dodging the french fry that Harry aimed at Peter's face.

"Hey, Parker, you got some ketchup on your nose." Harry smirked.

"I think," Ava began, clenching Peter's wrist to restrain him from starting a food fight, "it's due time for a proper movie night!"

It had been a week since Ava discovered the terrible state that Peter was in and already it looked as if nothing had happened to him. If only Ava knew what it was that he was doing to earn those types of injuries and how quickly they have already faded. He played it off as having really good concealer, but she hardly bought it.

"No can do," Harry frowned. "Some family from Chicago are gonna be crashing until they can find a place here."

"You live in a mansion, I'm sure we wouldn't cross paths even if we tried." MJ says.

"True, but they're… interesting, to say the least." Harry shook his head, thinking back to some long ago memory.

"Marcus is on a bender." Ava supplies. "And Grant has a babysitting gig so he'll hardly be at home."

"How old is Grant again?" Peter asks.

"Nine." She responds.

"Geez, and working." Harry says in disbelief. "Not fair for the kiddo."

"Yeah," is all Ava can say on the matter.

It isn't fair to Grant, but a good enough income has to be made somehow without them starving or getting kicked to the curb what with their father never working. Marcus is somehow capable of fooling the government into getting disability checks on top of his unemployment checks, but it doesn't get the family very far when he spends most of it at bars. So Ava and Grant work where they can, with Grant mostly doing babysitting and dog walking (a few times, he's even pulled a few scams by standing in front of places and asking for money for various "organizations") while Ava carries part time jobs wherever she can and during the summer, usually one or two full time jobs with another couple being part time. It's taxing and rarely leaves her with relaxation time, but it keeps food on the table and the bills paid and Grant in soccer. A few times they've had their electricity or water cut off and in times like that, MJ's family would always let the two come over to shower or use the restroom while Ava would have to take long stretches of time off school to make ends meet.

"Anyways, my place is available." Ava says.

"Works for me." Harry shrugs. Both Peter and MJ nod in agreement.

Peter and MJ got a ride with Ava to her house while Harry promised to meet them later on tonight, him having to take care of some business at Oscorp.

Harry had become more consumed lately with the company ever since the attack made on it by the Green Goblin. Apparently, his father had been in the building when the battle between the villain and Spider-Man went down and was severely injured. Harry never went into details, but from the ashen look on Harry's face when he told his friends what had happened, it seems bad. Ava believes Norman Osborn may be confined to his bed for the rest of his life.

Ava also knew not worry over Harry. He's smart and capable; he was born to take on the family business from the start anyways. She just wishes that it wasn't thrust upon him by these circumstances.

"What's for dinner?" Peter inquires, making himself comfortable on the couch and flipping through channels.

The whole house wasn't exactly prepared for any sort of company, trash and clothes littered around the place since it had been a few days since Ava last cleaned. When Ava used to first bring Peter or MJ over she used to spend hours ensuring that the house glistened, but there was no point in trying to hide or impress the two. They understand her living situation.

"Fuck all." Ava responded curtly, picking up a dirty jacket and crushed cans of beer as she made her way to the kitchen. Throwing away the cans and tossing the article of clothing in the hamper, she looked at the state that the kitchen and dining room is in and got to work.

Once Peter heard the water going in the sink, he got up from his spot on the couch and went over to help Ava. He washed, she rinsed.

"I'll order in Chinese!" MJ offers from the next room.

"God, no MJ, we've had that for three days in a row." Petter says, annoyed.

"How about Italian then? I can put an order in at Moretti's and pick it up."

"Much better." Ava responds, eyeing Peter.

When the dishes were finally clean, Peter picked up any remaining clothes on the ground while Ava headed upstairs to get the rest of the dirty laundry. MJ could be heard from Grant's room, the farthest away from the living room, and it made Ava chuckle.

It was moments like this where Ava would almost forget that they didn't actually live together. But they felt like her home nonetheless.

* * *

"Hope you don't mind that I brought my cousins Ian and Lip along." Harry smiled, hugging Ava.

"Not at all!" She responded, nodding at the two newcomers.

Ava notices that Ian has the same red hair as Harry, also seeing an obvious resemblance between the two when Ian smiled at her. Lip on the other hand, looks nothing like the two except for the blue eyes. He has unruly brown curls and less of a defined jawline, not to mention that he held himself differently than the two redheads. She couldn't get her eyes off of him.

"Alright so, Lip and Ian, these are my friends Ava, MJ, and Peter." Harry introduces.

They all say their hello's and settle down around the couch. Harry starts the movie while Ava grabs extra plates for his cousins. Harry had been annoyed during lunch about his family, but he seemed to be in a much better mood now albeit looking a bit exhausted (probably from being at Oscorp).

"Thank you." Lip says to Ava once she handed the plates to the two boys. "Ian and I really appreciate the hospitality."

"No problem." Ava laughed nervously, feeling almost meek around them. She never was much good with strangers. And the fact that they were extremely attractive.

"I see you're wasting no time." Harry teased Lip, causing the latter to lightly shove him.

The movie started and everyone quieted down, munching down on their food and intently watching the screen. The whole time, Ava felt inclined to slowly lean closer to Lip whenever she moved to grab more food from the bags or take a sip of her soda. Eventually, their thighs were touching and Ava felt her cheeks get hot. She's never acted this way towards someone before, but she couldn't help herself.

Lip seemed to be taking the hint because his hand lingered on Ava's knee when he bent over to set his plate on the coffee table. Then, he made himself more comfortable and stretched his arm on top of the couch, his fingers grazing over her shoulder. It was little things like this that may have meant nothing to everyone else, but Lip and Ava knew it was their type of communication.

It was perfect too that the first movie that Harry had put in was a scary movie. Ava never actually found herself scared when watching them, and that was obvious considering when in the beginning everyone would be frightened and Ava would either laugh at what happened on screen or at her friends. But as the movie and the interactions between Ava and Lip continued, the former would pretend to flinch and jump when the others would flinch and jump.

In the climax of the movie, everyone shouted out in surprise and Ava grabbed Lip's hand. He held her hand back. Ava felt just how warm he is and silently thanked Harry for bringing him.

She looks over at the boy and he was already looking at her. Ava feels almost intimidated by his piercing eyes, but she couldn't find herself to look away. Lip squeezes her hand and gives her a small smile, in which Ava returns. She gives her attention back to the movie and leans against Lip, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Where's the bathroom?" Ian asks, breaking Ava out of the trance she felt herself to be in moments earlier because of Lip and breaks away from him.

"Down the hall, door to the right." Ava points. Ian gives Ava a knowing look as he gets up from the couch and it makes Ava blush. She realizes that he partially only asked for the bathroom to tease her.

"Don't mind Ian." Lip whispers in her ear so no one else could hear. "You're really beautiful, you know."

Ava's breath hitches in her throat and it takes her moment to process what is happening. On the floor is MJ and Harry, their legs strangely stacked over each other and paying rapt attention to the horror scene. To her left is Peter, who keeps glancing over at MJ every five seconds.

Ava never responds back to Lip, but instead pays actual attention to the rest of the movie that's beginning to end soon. She can feel Lip staring at her still and it makes her feel self-conscious, but not in a bad way. Ava could admit that she quite likes it.

The movie ends and Harry turns to face the rest of his friends. "Well, that was fucked up." Everyone agrees and asks Harry to put in another that was more laugh inducing than scream inducing.

"I actually better get going home. Promised my mom." MJ yawns, stretching out her limbs. "You comin', Tiger?" She looks to Peter expectantly.

"Actually, I think I might stay a while." He hesitated.

"Alright." MJ frowns. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gets up to give Peter a kiss before waving goodbye and leaving out the back.

"How about we all get to know each other better?" Peter asks, although it didn't sound like much of a question but a command. She couldn't quite piece together why he seemed so ticked off.

Harry shrugs and turns off the TV, rejoining the group. "Sure, why not."

The questions tossed back and forth are innocent at first, but Peter seemed to be tense and Ava could tell he was getting close to going off so she tried to steer the conversation every chance she got. It almost seemed it was because of Lip, which slightly irked her.

"Peter, do you remember that girl I hooked up with who turned psycho?" Ava says.

"Psycho?" Ian inquired, a smile on his lips.

"Girl?" Lip nearly sputtered out, shock written all over his face.

"I remember having to help you scare her off your front porch." Peter retorts.

"God, yeah, what was her name again?" Harry laughs.

"Tsukiko." Peter and Ava say in unison, groaning.

"I'm sorry, girl?" Lip asks.

"Just think of Ava being on one of those horse springs if straights and gays stick to the slides." Harry supplied a strange sort of imagery that Lip couldn't completely understand. "She swings both ways. She would happily enjoy herself fucking either a male or female." Harry deadpanned.

"Got it." Lip started laughing, shaking his head at his cousin.

"That's not a problem, is it?" Peter stares at Lip.

"What, no. Ian's gay." Lip says, Ian winking at Peter. "I need to go smoke real fast."

"I'll come too." Ian joins his brother, the two heading out to the front porch.

"I'm gonna go out there." Ava decides.

"They smoke weed." Harry cautions.

"Good." Ava shrugs.

Before she closes the door behind her, she can hear Harry and Peter going back and forth.

"Hello, beautiful." Lip smiles, taking a drag from his joint before offering it to Ava. She gladly takes it. It's been awhile since Ava had smoked any weed since she never really cared much for it.

"Sorry about Peter." Ava hands back the joint, smoke coming out from her mouth and nose as she spoke.

"It's cool, protective brotherly instincts and all that." Lip says.

The three shared the joint and got into an easy conversation. Ava found herself enjoying the company of Lip and Ian, getting along great with the two. She discovers that their family situation is a lot alike to her own and they began to bond over the insanity of their fathers.

"Frank once used our younger brother, Liam, for collateral. Just stole the child one day and we had to bust down the doors of a king pin and pay off Frank's debt ourselves." Ian shook his head.

"Hey, you can't judge when it comes to stealing babies." Lip countered, grinning.

"We went for a drive!" Ian exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. The action caused him to lose balance and Ava had to help steady him, the two dissolving into a fit of laughter.

"It was a long ass fucking drive." Lip laughed.

"We shouldn't be laughing about kidnapped babies." Ava says, catching her breath.

That's when Harry popped his head in the window, scaring Ava and Ian in the process which only made Lip laugh harder.

Harry propped the window open. "You guys have been out there for nearly an hour, do you care to join us back inside or are you going to continue to piss off the neighbors?"

"We're comin'." Ava smiles at the polished boy, although he doesn't look much too happy.

"Why the long faces?" She asks once she steps back into the living room.

Despite being high, Ava almost looked as if she had suddenly sobered up and looked at Peter and Harry, the two being visibly upset. "I'm sorry," she began, "I guess I should've asked if you guys wanted a hit." She finished with a snicker. It only seemed to anger Peter more, but Harry had a guilty look on his face.

The conversation ended right there because Ian and Lip had walked in, tripping over their own two feet.

"We should probably be getting back." Harry says curtly. Ava still didn't understand what had come over Harry for him to be guilty.

"Yeah, and I'm probably worrying Aunt May." Peter didn't make eye contact with Ava, merely picked up his things and slammed the door on his way out.

Ava didn't want to give Peter's attitude much thought, especially since she was focusing on Lip and thinking how she didn't want him to leave. Knowing Harry though, he wouldn't like it if Lip spent the night.

"Text me when you get home." Ava hugs Harry.

"Of course." He says, squeezing her tight.

"I'm gonna pop like a balloon, Osborn."

"Sorry." He lightly laughs.

"It was a pleasure meeting you." Ian tells Ava, the tall boy engulfing her in a hug.

When they separate, Ian winks at her and turns to Harry, putting his arm around him and leading him outside. "Let's go start the car."

Lip is still standing in the same spot he was in when he first walked in, taking in Ava's figure. She stares back. For a few seconds there is only silence. Then it's like an explosion happens when Lip and Ava finally collide. Their bodies press together and Lip has one hand in Ava's hair and the other on the small of her back, holding onto her tightly. Ava could never explain the way that they're acting except for it to be hunger. She wraps her arms around his neck and completely surrenders herself to him and he does the same to her. They fall back onto the couch with Lip on top, their kissing growing more passionate and desperate.

It's when Ava notices Lip fumbling with his belt that she puts her hands on his chest and breaks away.

"This isn't a good idea." She states.

She almost expects Lip to continue anyways, but feels a warmth in her chest when he pulls away and sits up.

"Too fast for ya?" He looks at her apologetically. He gets a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lights up. "Sorry."

"It just doesn't seem like a good idea right now."

"I get it." He nods, taking another drag. "I hope this don't mean we don't see each other again."

"I'd like to." She responds almost too quickly. It makes Lip smirk.

"Good." He gets up from the couch and in turn so does Ava. She realizes that it felt like so much time had gone by, but in reality it was only a minute.

She escorts the James Dean looking boy to the door and as he walks down the steps, Ava speaks up. "What kind of a name is Lip anyway?"

He turns his head back towards her as he makes his way to Harry's car, a big grin on his face. "Short for Phillip!"

* * *

"What the fuck!" Ava exclaims, bursting into Peter's room.

The girl still not down from her high had let herself into the quiet Parker home. It was extra quiet tonight because Aunt May was pulling an extra shift at the hospital.

Not bothered to throw on a t-shirt, Peter doesn't bother to even acknowledge Ava either.

"Peter." Ava throws a paperweight at his head, but the boy easily caught it.

"Good thing you never tried out for softball."

"Fuck you. Now, what was that about?"

"What?"

"Tonight, dipshit!"

"Can you stop with the name calling?"

At this point, Peter had gotten up from the bed and Ava noticed a sloshing brown liquid peeking out from one his pillows. She hadn't even noticed the smell on his breath until now. She looks back to her friend and sees anger in his eyes, fueling him.

"What happened?" She asked more gently now, limbs going slack and not entirely sure if it was because of the drugs or exhaustion. Ava settled down on Peter's bed and before he could turn around to face her again, she grabbed the bottle and set it at the foot of the bed out of his eyesight. Judging by how there was hardly any left, he should be seeing double and yet he looks like he hadn't touched a single drop although he certainly smelled like it. It didn't hurt to be safe, though.

"Nothing." He refused to give out any information. But at least he didn't seem pissed anymore and moved to sit down next to her. "Can't talk about it."

"That's all I've been hearing you say lately. Can't talk about much, it looks like."

Peter didn't respond and Ava knew that he wouldn't budge. Not saying a word, Ava holds his hand and ignores how cold his fingers are. They stayed like this for a short while until Peter looked back up with glazed eyes and whispered words that Ava would never expect to hear.

"She cheated."

Ava was at a loss for words. Her closest friend from elementary school wouldn't do such a thing. People at school talked, but that's all they ever were: rumors that amounted to nothing. They saw a pretty girl comfortable in her own skin and branded her with the letter A. But it couldn't be the truth.

"I found out today from Gwen Stacy during Physics." He said shakily. His grip on Ava's hand tightened and she winced, but kept her silence. "But I didn't know with who…uh. Not until tonight.

"When you guys went out to the porch, Harry–he was–he was asking me why I've been so off and I told him and. And then he started acting weird and apologizing to me, saying 'I'm sorry, we didn't mean to hurt you.' I didn't understand at first what he meant by 'we.'"

It all clicked in Ava's head. It explained why Peter had been acting strange during the night. It also explained why Harry had looked guiltily at her whilst Peter was fuming.

"I thought you were pissed at me." Ava chuckled weakly, now beginning to lose blood flow in her hand. "Also, ouch."

"Sorry." He quickly let go of Ava's hand and took in slow, deep breaths.

"I was never mad at you." He said quietly. "I didn't mean to take it all out on you. I just–"

"Found a reason to direct it." She supplied.

"Yeah."

It still didn't feel right. How could MJ do this to Peter of all people? He was the least deserving of any of that bullshit. A hot flash began to course through Ava's veins as she continued to think about it.

"You haven't talked to her yet?" She asked, her words sounding clipped like she was trying to contain herself.

"Nope." Peter sighed, falling back onto the bed. He stared up at his glow-in-the-dark constellations that Ava had put up there herself. They roughly mirror where the constellations would be during the week of his birthday. The brown eyed girl did the same as the brown eyed boy, her hair fanning out in all directions as she stared up at the plastic stars.

"I'm sure Harry has told MJ that you know by now." Ava said.

"Yup." He replied.

"She's gonna avoid you. Mary Jane's never liked confrontation."

"I know."

"You gotta be the one to talk to her, Peter."

"I know."

"Seriously."

"I know."

"Break up with her."

"Wait, what?"

Peter shifted, propping up his body with his elbow so that he could look over at his friend.

"Break up with–"

"Yeah, I heard you."

The silence stretched on for minutes, Ava struggling to say what she knew she had to. "We both know Mary Jane. But I know her better than you, believe it or not. This isn't like her, Pete. She's never cheated on someone before, but she's nearly had."

"What?"

"Yeah. She started having feelings for someone else. It's not something she ever intended on happening, and she stopped herself from doing anything. Then she broke up with the dude and got with the other one. It's funny, they didn't even last that long."

"So you're saying she doesn't feel anything for me."

"I'm sorry." It most certainly hurt to say, but Ava knew MJ and how her mind worked, even when the damned thing didn't make sense itself. She knows that MJ must feel terrible about what she did to Peter, but she probably doesn't feel so guilty in the fact that she obviously didn't see much to the relationship anymore for her to do such a thing. And with Harry of all people.

The two didn't speak for a long while, just looking up at the stars and their faint glow against Peter's blue colored walls. Ava remembered when MJ and Peter first started going out. How happy they both were, Peter especially since the girl he always noticed next door was finally noticing him back. Ava remembered thinking that maybe they would last.

"Lip seems like a nice kid." Peter says, breaking Ava away from her thoughts.

"We almost had sex." Ava blurts out.

"Avery!" Peter says astonished.

"I stopped it." She chuckles, smacking the idiot on his side. "I may have been high, but not high enough to think that fucking within knowing each other a total of three hours would've been a good idea."

"Jesus. Go on a date first, yeah?" Peter smiles over at Ava and she can see that it's a sad sort of smile. He's hurting and there's nothing that Ava can do to fix it.

Suddenly, Peter's whole entire demeanor changed.

"Pete?" Ava questions uneasily.

"Shit."

Peter jumped from the bed, threw on a jacket, and grabbed his backpack, already running down the stairs. Ava followed after him, trying her best to keep up. He didn't slow down as he practically broke through the front door and sprinted down the street, his long limbs exerting themselves. Ava refused to stop, calling after Peter until he finally turned around.

"What the fuck?" Ava gets out in one breath as she slowed down.

"Don't follow me." Peter looks at Ava desperately. "You have to promise me that."

"As soon as…you tell…me where the hell…you're going." Ava manages to get out, still panting.

"I–"

"Don't you dare…fucking say you can't!"

"I will not." He countered with a smirk on his face. He covered Ava's eyes with one hand and trapped her hands and feet with something strong and slightly sticky with the other.

"What the fuck!" She exclaimed once Peter moved his hand away and she saw that she bound by some form of webbing. "What the fuck!"

"I have to go." Peter starts off in a sprint again, turning left at the street corner.

Ava tried to hop in the direction that Peter went, but fell down. Thinking quickly, she knew that across street lived Mickey Milkovich. He was a crazy son of a bitch, but boy did he love his weapons. She knew that there had to be something sharp lying around his yard.

Awkwardly getting back up, she made her way over to the Milkovich's yard. Already sweating from the effort, she saw a shank lying on the porch and held onto it with her teeth. Sawing at her strange restraints, Ava eventually had enough mobility to be able to pull at the webbing some and remove most of it from her hands. She started working on her feet. That's when she heard an explosion.

Turning her head towards the sound, she saw a plume of smoke rise up into the air in the direction that Peter had gone.

Working faster, Ava finally cut through and was free. Shank still in hand, she got up and sprinted towards the explosion.

There was no thought process, just action. Adrenaline pumped her veins and when another explosion went off, her resolve strengthened in going towards it. There was no denying that that's where Peter was, as strange as it seemed. Ava was turning down street after street, following the smoke that was beginning to get larger. She never noticed that the smoke was really thick and was actually fanning out until she saw it just a few feet in front of her and stopped in her tracks.

It was curling towards her, swallowing everything in its path. Was it acidic? Some sort of biological weapon? It most definitely was more like a mist or fog. Ava was not sure what to do. She stood there as it continued to close the gap between them, afraid of what it was and also afraid of what may have happened to Peter.

"Avery, run!"

The voice sounded familiar and when Ava heard the voice come from above, it startled her. Looking up, she saw a person in red and blue sticking to the wall of a corporate building. Spider-Man.

"Avery!" Spider-Man shouted again. Ava couldn't move. She knows that voice. It's Peter Parker's voice. But that's Spider-Man's body.

Spider-Man shot his arm towards Ava, the advanced webbing emanating from his wrist shooting out towards her; the same webbing that had tied up Ava. But it was too late when the webbing attached itself to her. The fog had enveloped her and at the sudden contact, something strange was happening.

Looking down at her legs, she could see that parts of the mist began to swirl around them and slowly snake it's way up the rest of her body.

The webbing was tied around her wrist, and when she was suddenly being lifted up into the air, she dropped the shank and looked up, following the web to its owner, Spider-Man. Peter Parker.

"Avery!" The screams emanating from him sounds mangled and damaged.

The mist still clung to Ava, and somehow, there was weight to it. It was beginning to constrict her, holding onto her tighter and tighter like a coiled snake.

She looked at the mask. They were face to face and she could see his arm wrapped tightly around her as they suddenly swung from building to building, but she couldn't feel him against her. It was as if the mist was becoming a barrier. A painful one at that.

Soon enough, her vision was clouded entirely as the mist thickened and she could no longer hear the wind nor Spider-Man's pleas as he continued swinging them to God only knows where. It only got worse from there. The mist felt like it was seeping into every inch of her. The pain too unbearable, she lost consciousness.

* * *

The sunlight is painful. Bringing an arm up to shield Ava's eyes, she realizes how weak her body is. Disoriented, she tries to gauge her surroundings. It's an abandoned warehouse. Or maybe an underground lair. The sewers? Based off of the fact that she was obviously in a concrete room with only small windows lining the top of the walls. But how did she get here?

"Ava?" She could hear a male's voice ask tentatively. Peter. No, Spider-Man. "Everything happened so fast. I–I tried to–" He suddenly cut off, whether it be from sadness or disappointment, Ava wasn't sure.

She turns to the sound of his voice and sees him in the far corner of the room, the shadows giving him an eery look. The red and blue spider suit is torn and there's dried up blood and it's his face– his face and the body of Spider-Man and it all explains everything, but nothing makes much sense either.

"You're telling me the truth. Now." Ava's voice had an edge that almost frightened her if she didn't feel so out of limbo. Everything about her felt wrong. Getting up from the bed was lying down in felt like a chore.

With shaky breaths, Peter composed himself enough to begin what Ava had always been waiting for: the truth.

"Remember the first day of my internship? Yeah, well. I was bit by a spider, lo and behold I get powers. I was destroying everything I touched and was randomly sticking to walls, none of it made sense.

"When Uncle Ben was murdered, I realized that I could actually do something about it. I started hunting down guys that fit the killer's M.O. I developed my own type of webbing. I kept designing different disguises until finally, I created the suit. I never caught Uncle Ben's killer, though. Bigger things were happening. Villains were popping up, not just your average criminal anymore. Every time you've seen Spider-Man on the news, it's always been me.

"Tonight, these guys that I can only assume were radicals or some new bad boy band were planning on releasing something they kept calling the Terrigen Mist to New York City. There were crates of crystals and before they could break all of them, I stepped in. One guy got away though and smashed a couple. That's when I got the hell out of there and then… then I saw you."

"What did it do to me?" Ava didn't waver when she spoke, but she sure as hell felt scared shitless on the inside.

"I don't know." Peter shook his head, getting up from the floor and walking over to Ava. "Avery, I thought you were dead."

Peter's eyes were beginning to water and Ava couldn't handle this. No, not this, not any of it. She was suddenly thrust into his world, his confusing and fucked up superhero world and she didn't want any part of this. But a part of her also felt betrayed because how could he have kept something like this from her? Anxiety was crawling up from her chest to her neck and Ava jumped up, slightly dizzy from getting up so quickly, but ignored it. When Peter tried to get closer to his friend, she pushed him away. He flew across the room and slammed against the concrete wall.

"I–" Ava held back a sob, looking down at her hands and back up at Peter who was now getting back up.

"Ava?" Peter questioned. There's fear in his eyes.

"Stay away!" Ava exclaimed. She thrust out her arms, trying to create even more distance between the two, but then Ava felt an awakening within her. The concrete above them gave out, falling into the room and crushing Peter. The metal pipes broke loose and struck down in an arc to the ground.

"Peter!" Ava screamed, hot tears streaming down her face. Her whole entire body was shaking.

Moving forward, she pushed aside chunks and slabs of concrete, trying to make her way over to the boy who was yelling out Ava's name. He didn't sound hurt, just frightened. Ava slipped in between two long metal pipes and continued on. Digging down, she found that it was easy to remove the concrete. She could even throw it over her shoulder.

When she was able to see Peter's arm, she moved quicker. A lot quicker than humanly possible. Peter finally had enough of the concrete off of him to where he could break free on his own. The two stared at each other, both panting. Ava could see just how scared he currently is. Scared of her. She was surprised that instead of Peter trying to get away from her, he pulled her into an embrace.

"We'll figure this out together." He promises.

The next morning on the news, there were reports of a strange mist appearing over a two block radius in Queens although no one had been harmed and it didn't appear to be a toxin. There were no strange reports of superpowered people running rampant and scared because of the incident.

Ava and Peter were still underground in an abandoned subway station. Not the sewers as she had originally thought. When the two calmed down after the strange fiasco, Peter led Ava away from the now-destroyed janitor's closet to an unfinished terminal.

"Where are we?" Ava asked.

"Roosevelt Station. Under the the Waldorf Astoria." Peter replied.

"What the hell."

Hours later, they're now sitting down on the makeshift bed inside the station and watching a smiling lady deliver lackluster news.

"At least this thing didn't affect anybody else." Peter sighs, getting up to turn off the small TV.

"Yeah, but why me?" Ava is still lost as to what exactly happened. They tried running a quick search on Terrigen Mist, but nothing had come up.

"I don't know. If it only affected you and no one else, maybe this mist is designed to change certain people. The guys who were planning to gas the whole state were saying something about a new world on the horizon. Most of what they said made no sense."

"Nothing else useful? A name, organization, other locations?" Ava pushes, visibly annoyed at how little information they could gather from what transpired last night. Peter looks at Ava nervously, instinctively taking on a fighting stance. It was then that Ava realizes she was making the station and the confines within it shake. Unclenching her fists and focusing on steadying her breathing, it gradually stops. "Peter, please. They had to have said more." She was begging at this point. Losing a handle on her control scares her.

"Uh, S.H.I.E.L.D. They brought up S.H.I.E.L.D. And a woman. Her name sounded Chinese; Jiaying. They talked about a war. Again, none of it made sense."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was dismantled." Ava shook her head. "But hey, all of their files are online now."

"Not all." Peter says. "The government was pretty quick in recovering whatever they could before the Rising Tide got their hands on the rest. So anything that could expose our wonderful government is off the table."

"Still worth a shot to look into."

Peter grabbed his laptop and scoured the darker parts of the web, getting into the Rising Tide's website and their database. "For all their mumbo jumbo about exposure, they make it pretty hard to find something concrete here." Peter muttered. Finally, he found something on the woman.

"It's old. Like before S.H.I.E.L.D. was S.H.I.E.L.D." Peter commented, showing Ava the PDF files.

"1945. The SSR. There's not much except that she was liberated from a camp."

"Like concentration camp?"

"No, not like that. Just that it was a camp where experiments were conducted."

"This only makes it more confusing."

"Here, maybe we can find related files about the liberation."

Peter worked at searching for any files from the same month as the liberation and started from there.

"Days later, the SSR had apprehended a German scientist along with something called the Obelisk in Austria. But that's all the information there, the whole entire thing is practically redacted." Peter continued searching, now using the name of the scientist, Werner Reinhardt, and the Obelisk in the database. The files that they could find were all redacted.

"Dead ends. We look for answers and come up with more questions." Ava fumed, her pulse feeling like it became a catalyst to what had happened next.

"My laptop!" Peter cried out. The hunk of metal had been crushed into a ball.

"Shit. Sorry." Ava couldn't calm down. The station began to shake again, only more violently this time.

"Avery. Avery!" Peter got up, holding Ava's head in his hands. "Calm down."

"I can't. I can't control it." The more scared she got, the more control she lost.

"Yes, you can. Do what you did earlier."

Ava stared into Peter's eyes, seeing a whole forest within them. That's what she imagined. That she was in a forest. All alone. The only thing to be heard there was the wind as it rustled the leaves and lead her far away from reality.

"That's better." Peter whispered. The meltdown was over and Peter let go of his friend.

"Things have been pretty quiet, but do you remember learning in history about Erik Lensherr? The mutant uprisings?" Ava said quietly, sitting down on the floor.

"You think you're a mutant?" Peter joined her, their legs touching. It was comforting for Ava.

"Maybe these guys– maybe they were part of the Brotherhood and had created something to activate the mutant gene. Unlock it in the people who haven't shown any powers."

"Makes sense, but I don't think they were Magneto's guys. For one, a big spectacle would have been made out of it. Magneto is crazy, but he's also political. And he hasn't done anything recently. Another, nothing about mutants or the Brotherhood or the X-Men for that matter popped up in any of the files we could read. I think this is something else entirely."

"That makes all of this worse."

"I know."

"We've had a long day."

"Yes, we have."

"I still can't believe you destroyed the south side of the Oscorp building."

"Kinda glad I did now."

 **Alright, Chapter 2. Cool. For anyone actually reading this, can see that this world acknowledges the X-Men being in the same universe as that of the Avengers and Agents of SHIELD. For those who are caught up with the TV show will see who Ava now is. Ever since Singer kinda rebooted the X-Men movies, I'll be doing my own take on them in this universe, especially since it's one where other Marvel characters are acknowledged of existing.**

 **Totally forgot to add this: But Lip and any other person of the Gallagher clan are _not_ original characters, that is another crossover! They're from Shameless (US version). In case anyone thought otherwise. **


	3. Chapter 3

A month had passed since the Exposure (that's what Ava and Peter had taken to calling it). Ava has gotten a better handle on her abilities from training with Peter, but she still loses control from time to time. Whenever she feels heightened emotions of anything, she loses control of her abilities. She's still not entirely sure what the full extent of these abilities even are. It's obvious that she became stronger, and could manipulate metal, and the super speed, but Ava sometimes found herself feeling like there's more to them.

Peter did what he could to help Ava with understanding her abilities and how it's altered her DNA. Quite literally. There is no way to compare a sample from before the transformation to after, but it wasn't difficult to notice that Ava's genetic makeup was remarkably different to what a human's should typically look like. This most definitely ruled out the mutant theory since there was only one obvious identifier in a mutant's DNA whereas Ava's was completely changed. He had also concluded that Ava's enhanced speed is what causes her strength, thanks to the regeneration of her cells being stuck in a chronic state, granting her muscles instead of noodle arms. This is also what allows an insanely fast metabolism and healing rate, the two quickly discovered after one unsavory training session in which Ava had pushed herself too far. The metal bending powers were mostly a mystery to Peter. He couldn't piece together how Ava could have two abilities that have little to none correlation with each other. She couldn't even move any other material, just metal. Not much could be explored either way since they didn't have the proper instruments to examine Ava. Either way, it was extremely fascinating for Peter to explore the science behind this.

As for Ava, she didn't embrace her altered self like Peter was quick to. Not only did it show in her DNA that was changed, she could feel it. Another thing was understanding and grasping this change within her. The things that she could now do felt like an extension of her, almost like new limbs had grown on her body. It was even more difficult adjusting, mostly thanks to her increased metabolism and having to properly maintain her glucose levels.

"Eat the bars." Peter commanded, still not looking up from his laptop.

Much to the dismay of Ava, her good old friend Peter Parker had done some searching and made protein bars with an insane amount of calories that accommodates to the amount that Ava needs daily to stay alive.

"They're disgusting." Ava sneered, picking up a bar as if it were a bomb about to go off any second.

"Do you want to faint again?" He sighed.

Taking measly bites, Ava decided to look through Peter's papers. Upon closer inspection, she realized they contained the secret to Peter's webbing fluid and the design of his suit, which looking at the materials and workings of them, was genius. She wasn't smart enough for any of this.

"How do you know so much?" Ava wondered aloud, speaking through a mouthful of Parker Protein Bar.

"Well, clearly I don't know enough." He responded with frustration. "I know that you're not a mutant, you don't have the mutant gene in you at all, but I was hoping that maybe this evolutionary jump of yours could have similar explanations as to their genetics. But your blueprint is so different. My DNA certainly changed after the spider bite, but not to this degree. It's… alien."

"That certainly calms my nerves."

"Sorry. It's just new territory, I don't know how to go about this. On a brighter note though, I've been getting closer to making those shoes for you."

Thanks to Ava's speed, she always ended up burning up through every pair of shoes she wore. During training, she's had to go bare foot so as not to ruin anymore pairs.

The two remained holed up in Peter's bedroom well into dinner time, but there was no Aunt May calling them down tonight because of her work. When hunger became too distracting from his research, he called pizza delivery. Ava ate one and a half boxes on her own.

"And somehow you're still fit." Peter laughed, eating his third slice.

"Does this mean I age faster?" Ava asked abruptly, the thought seeming to startle her.

"Hm. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow you'll be an old hag." He smirked.

"God, I hope not." She laughed before seeming nervous. "Lip and I are going out tomorrow after school."

"Really?" Peter sounded surprised. "Didn't think that'd turn into something."

"Neither did I, but apparently he asked Harry for my number. He called last week for us to meet up and yeah. I'm scared."

"There's no reason for you to be." Peter said gently. "It's good that you're getting into the dating scene again. It's been a while."

"Not just that, Peter… I'm afraid of something going wrong. It's stressful enough when I'm at school or working, but to be one on one with someone… What if I lose control and he sees?"

It's true. Ava has had her fair share of slip ups whilst at school. Whether it's during class and she gets distracted or being in the hallways rushing to class and she moves quicker than she had meant to.

"We've been practicing on your control, you've gotten a lot better at it. I believe that you'll be fine."

"Hopefully. And what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you fine? I mean, how have you been?"

The night of the incident didn't give Peter much room to process the events in his own life, which made Ava guilty, but Peter almost seemed grateful for it. It gave him the chance to focus on something else other than MJ and Harry.

Ava wasn't at school for a week thanks to her newfound abilities, but judging from how Peter would look whenever he came over, it was tense between the three. The day that Ava did return to school, she discovered that Peter typically busied himself in the chemistry or biology labs during lunch (most likely using the school equipment to either refine his webbing or further research on Ava's change), Harry would sit with other friends who interned at Oscorp, and MJ would socialize with the jocks and cheerleaders.

MJ was the first person in the group to speak to her at school. After a heated discussion in the bathrooms, Ava discovered that MJ had been having an affair with Harry for quite a while. MJ was in tears, but Ava couldn't find it within herself to feel any pity whatsoever. It was also then that one of the pipes in the bathroom had broken and literal shit almost rained down on the redhead, but Ava denied having anything to do with that when Peter asked her about it later on that day.

So ever since then, things have been tense between the group. Peter has only recently started talking to Harry again, and he's also tried to mend things with MJ, but she's been AWOL a lot of the time. Her mother claimed that she was caught up doing a multitude of acting gigs and immersing herself into her work.

"I've been fine." Peter nods, giving Ava a terse smile.

"Doesn't look like it." Ava said, staring intently at the wall crawler's features, almost like she was studying him.

"I hate it when you look at me like that, you know." Peter sighs, shutting his laptop closed and leaning back against the bed. "Don't forget about training tonight. We'll focus on concentration to prepare for your little date."

"And I hate it when you change topics, but fine." She got up from her spot on the ground and gathered her things. "And it's not a date. We're just going to catch up. It'll be great. 'Oh, haven't been up to much, only just found out my best friend is Spider-Man and now I'm a freak, what about you?'" Giving her cheesiest smile to Peter, she walked out of his room and made her way back home.

* * *

Falling to the floor exhausted, Ava wiped away the pool of sweat that was collecting at the top of her forehead. Ava had ran the whole length of Manhattan ten times. It was a strange sensation to run. Everything around her moves so slowly as if she were frozen in time and it was near peaceful. In that suspension, she feels that she is isolated from the rest of the world.

"New record." Peter praised the speedster, tossing her an extremely large bottle of water to which she deftly caught. She finished the whole bottle in seconds. "Catch your breath and then we'll start on your date prep."

"Stop calling it that." Ava groaned. The boy only laughed in response and set out the metal weights. "Besides, how is using my powers going to help me not use them? I can move and run and punch like no tomorrow. I want to be able not to."

"Which means first mastering precision and strength in order for you to achieve that." He countered. "Now come on, I want you to move them across the room."

Firmly planting her feet on the ground, Ava glanced at Peter, standing tall with his arms crossed and expectantly waiting for her. Concentrating on the weights, Ava could suddenly feel something stir within her. She could feel the metal and the vibration it was giving off. Peter had once explained to Ava that everything in the world never rests, always in a constant state of motion. Lifting her hand towards the weights, she gave one flick of the wrist and suddenly all of the weights hovered a few inches from the ground and flew across the other end of the room, slamming into the concrete.

"Easy." She shrugged.

"Alright, maybe I should have been more specific. One by one. And slowly."

"But–"

"Control."

"Fine."

Ava did what Peter had asked of her and she learned how shaky she was when it came to slowly moving the weights. It definitely did put a strain on her too since she had to maintain control of it for a longer period of time rather than throwing them in short bursts.

When the last one gently landed on the ground, Ava sped into the station and grabbed ten water bottles and an insane amount of advil. Her metabolism burns too fast for only just one pill. And what she did take didn't last too long she quickly discovered.

"Got any strength left for sparring?" Peter seemed almost jovial. She noticed that in the passing weeks, Peter always seemed less sullen after a day of training. Maybe it was because he wasn't lonely anymore in this secret life he had been keeping from the world.

"God, I don't know, Parker." Ava laughed breathlessly. "We both know I'll sleep for a whole day if I wear myself out too much."

"Right, wouldn't want to miss that date of yours." He teased, turning out the lights of the station. The two stepped out and he pressed in the code, the single cart now appearing as if it has been abandoned for years.

"I hate you." She whined, awkwardly slipping her ratted shoes back on while still walking.

"No, you don't." He smiled.

"No, I don't."

Despite preferring to not use her abilities (she only does so purposefully during training), Ava quickly discovered that everything almost seemed like a great chore when not using her super speed. She voiced this to Peter as they walked towards an actual functioning terminal and mischief flashed before his eyes.

"I got an idea." Peter smiled devilishly.

Grabbing a hold of her hand, Peter made a sharp turn into an alley and had Ava unlock the ladder to the fire escape. The two worked their way up to the roof of the building, laughing all the way despite their efforts trying to remain quiet.

The gravel crunched beneath their feet and it almost seemed like it was charged with electricity with how excited they felt inside.

"Alright, you can't loosen your grip. At all." Peter stares at Ava with a sudden seriousness before flashing a smile.

"Gotcha." She nodded.

The pair climbed up on to the ledge and Ava tightly wrapped her arms around Peter's neck while he had a tight grip of her waist with one arm. Shooting out a web with the other, they maintained eye contact as their feet lifted off from the building and were suddenly in free fall. Letting out screams of joy, the two swung from building to building. The sensation was reminiscent to when Ava ran.

When they were getting close to the Williamsburg Bridge, they landed somewhere safely and still feeling the adrenaline pumping through their veins, decided to test out Ava's power some more.

Peter hopped onto Ava's back as if she were giving him a piggy back ride and then without any thought, she sped all the way to their street. She didn't go as fast as she usually pushed herself, for fear of it being too much for her friend.

Once they made it to Peter's doorstep, he nearly fell to the ground as he let go of Ava.

"Jesus, my neck. I think I got whiplash."

"Shit, sorry. I'll remember that next time."

"Next time?"

His face looked ashen and in an instant, Peter was leaning over the porch railing and barfing into Aunt May's petunias.

Ava looked away at disgust, only then noticing her shoes having embers at the sole and slowly burning their way through.

"Crap!" She exclaimed, quickly smacking her feet against the porch and then removing the ruined shoes, tossing them out into the street. "All I have left now are my sandals."

"I still feel dizzy." Peter groaned, lifting his head up and noticing the burnt shoes. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"The one I'm designing will be ready by tomorrow. You're lucky that Harry does anything that I ask now. Being able to use the labs at Oscorp is a godsend."

"Good thing I have a smart friend."

"Hey, you're pretty smart. Like a Jack of all trades."

"Master of none."

"I personally think it's better than only being a master of one."

"Whatever, Parker."

"Have fun on your _date_."

"Have fun being a pussy."

"That's not nice."

* * *

Ava never quite understood the proper etiquette when it came to dates. Just like in those stereotypical teen movies, Ava switched out clothes in front of the mirror. Too dressy. Too dressed down. Too much skin. Not enough skin. Frustrated, she slammed the closet shut without having to touch it.

"Shit." She whispered, sitting on the bed. She can't let that happen when hanging out with Lip tonight.

"Hey sis?" Grant knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Ava said startled, glad that the door was even closed in the first place. She's somehow managed to maintain her secret around Grant.

"Is it okay if I spend the night at Asim's?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." She smiled. It hurt just how often Grant is out of the house, but at the same time it's better that he is. Ava has always encouraged Grant to go be with friends whenever he possibly can in his free time.

"Thanks." He hesitated before leaving the room. "I hope you're not going out in that."

"No." Ava laughed.

"Wear normal clothes."

"Will do, bud."

He gave her a small smile before closing the door, leaving his sister now stuck between wearing a band t-shirt and one with a pun.

* * *

"Alright, hands down best Thai food I've ever had." Lip chuckled, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Told ya." Ava smiled.

Ava had picked up Lip at Harry's and it was the first in a long while that she had stepped into the Osborn household. The infamous Gallaghers were all scattered around town doing their own thing, but Lip was sitting on the kitchen counter, smoke curling out from the joint and framing his face. A drugged up angel; seemingly pretty, but undoubtedly ugly inside.

They never planned out the night, just did whatever they felt in the moment. It started out with bowling, the activity never being much exciting to Ava, but Lip made it seem like the time of her life. When their stomachs were obnoxiously growling, she took him to the Thai restaurant that Harry and Peter used to take Ava. It certainly brought up a lot of memories, some that she shared with Lip, but new ones were made here with him.

"I'mma admit something to you: I kinda don't want this night to end." Lip said. It made Ava's heart nearly skip a beat. It was as if she were a live wire, charged with energy.

"I feel the same." She said the words, but it was all starting to feel surreal.

The pair stopped walking and stared at each other, taking in the depths of their eyes and the emotion bleeding from it.

Ava's phone suddenly went off, shaking them from whatever space they were in.

"Sorry." Ava chuckled weakly, checking to see that it was Peter. Slightly annoyed, she answered. "Yeah?"

" _Ouch, am I cockblocking?_ " He teased. Ava could hear the breathy laugh over the line.

"No, sorry–" She responded before sighing with a small smile. "A little bit, yeah."

" _Well, don't let me keep you. I'll, uh, reach you later then._ "

"Yeah, alright."

The line disconnected and Ava looked up at Lip. He was finishing the last of his smoke and there was something unidentifiable in his eyes.

"Are you studying me?" She questioned, putting her phone away.

"No, not at all." He lied, giving her a small smile.

"Uh huh."

The two walked on in silence towards Ava's car. It wasn't any type of awkward silence, but a comfortable one between the two. Ava had discovered that she found herself to be quite relaxed around Lip, not having to pretend to be someone she's not. Well, except for the small tidbit that she could crush him with a flick of a wrist. But besides that, she never for one moment felt tense with him.

Once starting the car, Ava didn't have a chance to pull away from the curb because suddenly Lip reached over from the passenger seat and put a hand to Ava's cheek. She suddenly felt a small electric charge that danced across her face and raced down her body. Lip's blue eyes were searching Ava's brown one. What it was that he was looking for, Ava had no clue.

Lip slightly leaned forward and Ava too inclined her head forward so that their lips were just barely touching. There was that electricity again, just between their lips; the energy was radiating heat. Ava closed the small distance, welcoming his soft lips. Desire burned within her as they kissed. Ava wasn't entirely sure what that desire was, other than knowing it was strong and she craved more of the boy who seemingly waltzed into her life.

"I should probably get you back home." Ava said as she pulled away, her voice quiet. She didn't want to ruin the moment, as much as she knew that they couldn't go further just yet.

Lip leaned his head against the headrest and stared at Ava.

"You don't gotta." He replied in the same voice, reaching a hand out to hold Ava's own. "You're somethin' else entirely, you know that?"

"What do you mean?" Ava laughed, having to let go of Lip's hand to be able to get on the road. But she quickly interlaced her fingers with his and kept her left hand on the steering wheel.

"You're just… different." He smiled.

"Oh yeah?" She said sarcastically. "God, don't make me off to be like one of those girls in a chick-lit."

"Oh, drats, I guess I can't use that trick with you." He teased, breaking out into a full smile now. Lip always seemed to be smiling around Ava, something that his family would certainly make fun of him for.

"Yeah, nice try, Gallagher." Ava said.

The rest of the car ride was filled with small chit chat consisting of talk about school. Ava learned that Lip was a genius at his old school and had always excelled in mechanical engineering. Ava being moderate in physics, there was plenty for the two to discuss and she had assured Lip that Midtown's science division was one of the best in the city. It was music to Lip's ears since he had told her that his old school was "a pile of horse shit."

Ava parked in front of the Osborn mansion.

"This is me." Lip sighed, disappointment tinging his words.

"This is you." Ava reiterated. "We had fun, didn't we?"

"Yeah." There it was again, that smile.

Lip gave Ava one quick kiss before exiting the car. Without looking back, he waved goodbye as he entered his temporary home. It was in this home that Ava could notice a crowd peeking through one of the windows, staring at Ava. She could notice Ian amongst them, and gave a smile and wave before driving off.

She really did like Lip. She liked the fact that he was someone new, liked that he was a bit of a mystery, liked that he was a total rebel, liked that despite the connection they obviously have, they still have pretty distant lives. That's probably what she liked most about him: Philip was separate from Ava's life and its ugliness.

Ava returned to an empty home. Usually, the place is a pigsty, but it was near spotless. Grant must've cleaned up after Ava left. It brought a warmth to her and a slight pang that the kid wouldn't be coming home tonight.

Kicking off her flats and flopping down on the couch, she pulled out her cell and called Peter.

" _How'd the date go?_ " He said in a sing-song voice as soon as he answered.

"We robbed a bank." She deadpanned.

" _You can't tell a superhero that._ " He admonished.

"Shut up." She laughed. "Why'd you call earlier?"

" _Oh, yeah. Never mind. Not that important._ "

"What? No, why did you call?"

" _Well, I got your shoes–_ "

Peter never had a chance to finish his sentence since Ava was suddenly in his room. The wall crawler was hanging upside down from the ceiling in the furthermost corner of the room and had jumped down from shock at the appearance of his speedster friend.

"Ow." He muttered, rubbing his head as he righted himself and ended the call that was still running.

Ava paid no attention as she went straight for the shoes to inspect. They resembled running shoes, but sleeker. They were completely silver save for a tiny lightning bolt on the soles entrapped in a circle.

"The Flash? Really?" Ava smirked, looking back at Peter.

"Hehe, yeah." He grinned.

"Dork." She whispered, thumbing over the logo of the comic book speedster.

"Time for a test drive." Peter said, dragging Ava outside onto the quiet street.

Ava puts on her new shoes, glad that they're comfortable and nonrestrictive. Doing exaggerated lunges that made Peter roll his eyes and mutter curses, Ava suddenly felt lighter. Ever since she gained these mystery abilities, she had always felt weighed down with them and the fact that she has to keep them hidden.

Without much warning, Ava ran. It's quite ironic actually; Ava had always detested running. Hated doing it during PE and never even bothered to rush to class. Ever since the Exposure, running brought some reprieve to her. She couldn't explain it properly, just that she felt more like herself than any other time. And despite this, a part of her still disliked using her abilities. It meant accepting what happened and the endless unanswered questions that surrounded the situation.

The shoes held. Ava raced around the block a few dozen times before circling around Peter fast enough to knock him off of his feet to which Ava easily caught him right before he hit the ground.

"Yeah, I think they'll do just fine." Ava said a little breathlessly, fatigue creeping up on her. She should've eaten that protein bar earlier.

"I'm glad." Peter said a bit sourly, but still wore a proud smile on his face.

The pair headed back inside and Ava devoured two bars of Parker Protein and heated up frozen mac and cheese and pizza rolls to which Peter reminded her that if she vibrated her hands fast enough, she could heat up the food herself.

"I'm trying to stay grounded and humble, Parker." Ava retorted, stuffing more food in her face.

"That makes zero sense, but alright." He sighed.

"Thanks for the shoes." Ava said, admiring the gift. The silver was a little too flashy for her taste, but she appreciated the practicalities the shoes themselves possessed so it was worth it.

"No prob. But now you owe me. Whatever, whenever."

"You got it."

Ava finished her large meal and ended up spending the night at the Parker household considering there was no point returning to an empty home.

 **Alright, so chapter four is still in the works, meaning that posting will be irregular, but it won't be that long of a wait (one or two weeks per chapter tops). Again, acting like there's such a huge following to this, which doesn't really matter to me. Just felt like publishing something out into the world and fanfiction seemed like a good start.**

 **Yes, I had to make a Flash reference. It was only fitting.**

 **The relationship between Peter, Ava, Harry, and MJ is currently strained and in the back burner, but they'll eventually be together again (somewhat). And relationships involving Lip will become important to the story (which is funny since I originally wanted him for that one scene as a nod to one of my fav shows, but decided to see where this could go), same goes for Gwen Stacy (and yes I know that Gwen Stacy was the first girlfriend, but I decided to take a different route with this girl).**


	4. Chapter 4

As time went on, Ava continued gaining better control of her powers. She personally detested considering them as "powers," since it made it sound like she were some sort of hero like Peter. But even the web crawler didn't want Ava playing hero at all and no complaints came from the latter. Especially since there still weren't any leads as to what the Mist was and who the people who released it were, it worried Peter that if Ava were to have any media attention with her abilities, they would come back.

The pair actually became quite the duo anyways whenever Peter did his late night shifts as Spider-Man. Ava would speed over to Roosevelt station and send Peter around town where there would either be petty crimes or loser wannabe villains (really just bored pricks donning a mask and playing pretend, but a good number of them were dangerous to the public). Ava always felt a thrill run through her veins after helping her superhero friend. Although there were some nights where Ava would regret not trying to stop Peter and those nights would be when the bad guys put up more of a fight than anticipated and Ava had to help him bandage wounds. At least at this point, she's gotten a lot better with a needle than any figurative grandmother could hope for.

Tonight was another night of patrolling the city of New York and it was surprisingly quiet, not even petty criminals being reported through the police scanners.

"Unless all the idiots in this town are planning some uprising that's gonna go down tonight, I think it's safe to tell you to come back to the Station, Petey." Ava yawned, highlighting and taking notes in the margins of an article for her English homework.

" _It's just strange that it's so quiet. I mean, this is New York_."

"Spidey sense tingling?"

" _Nope_."

"Get your ass over here."

As soon as Peter strolled into the abandoned terminal, he began taking off the suit. Maybe it was shameful, but Ava never failed to stare at his abs. Seriously, the kid never used to be muscular until after the spider bite.

"Creep." Peter stated. The boy threw on a shirt and basketball shorts before aiming his mask at Ava's head. She caught it and looked at the lenses, feeling a slight chill crawl up her spine. The world became less black and white ever since heroes and villains and all inbetween came in the picture.

"So when's date night again?" Peter asked casually, flipping through an old magazine.

"Oh, uh." Ava blushed, putting the mask and the rest of his abandoned suit left on the floor in Peter's duffle. "Thursday. It's the only day he's got available. He felt really bad about ditching the last one."

"Why did he again?"

"Family stuff."

"That's all he told you?"

"That's all I told him last week when your dumbass came flying in through my window."

"But we are family."

This shocked Ava and she visibly stilled. Her and Peter were close, and she didn't have a relationship with him like anyone else, but she never expected for Peter to consider her as family. And the more she thought about it, the more she liked that idea.

"Yeah." She smiled at him, brown eyes glistening with this newfound happiness.

"Maybe he's secretly a superhero too." Peter quipped, trying not to smile.

"Jesus, then I better start running for the hills."

"Hey!"

The two laughed and continued talking about whatever came to mind. At this point, Ava abandoned her homework and sat down next to Peter, knowing full well she wouldn't get much done tonight.

After some time, they decided to close down shop completely and head back home. Peter would always beg Ava to just speed them back since it would only take under a minute, but she'd respond with an uneasy laugh and shove. Those shoves would send Peter nearly flying in the beginning, but Ava had better control of it now. And she didn't want to risk ruining her clothes; they would occasionally burn or singe if she ran too fast and the same would happen to Peter, but the latter hardly cared much.

"You know that… _it_ is a part of your life now, right?" Peter said once they were in the subway, trying to be vague enough for others not to understand what they were talking about if anyone happened to be listening in. Ava blushed when she noticed an elderly woman sitting down scowl at her. She probably thought that they were having a conversation about pregnancy.

"And I know you get happy about all of it too. Is that it? Are you afraid of accepting it?" He continued.

"Peter…" Ava fell short on words, uncomfortable having the conversation at all, much less in public.

"What?"

"Not all of us can don masks." She whispered harshly. "And not all of us can be so out in the open as _Spider-Man._ "

The shock of her words silenced Peter and the conversation took a pause until they got to their stop and walked out. Ava could've left it at that, but at this point she felt a new anger, one that came from the fear that she has refused to contemplate for some time now. Once they were a safe distance away from any other signs of life, Ava spoke up again.

"Peter, I think you sometimes forget that we lead dangerous lives now. If I'm not at risk, then you or anyone else I care about could be. There's already so much tension with the awareness of mutant existence. Imagine if a whole new set of freak was exposed. People already don't feel safe! No one has felt safe since the Accident, since the Mandarin bombings, since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, since random people with powers cause damage to cities everywhere! And you expect me to accept what comes with having these powers!

"Yes, I feel a thrill unlike anything else when I use them. Of course I do. But I can't lose myself in them, not ever."

She felt herself nearly lose control like she had used to and knew that if she didn't have such a good check on them, she would've killed Peter with the scrap of jagged metal discarded on the ground. She wasn't ever about to admit the fact, but it sure proved her point further. What if she lost complete control one day?

"I understand that!" He thundered, quickly looking around to make sure the street was still deserted, but still grabbing Ava's arm and dragging her down an alley. "I'm a hero one day and a villain the next in the news. But you can't–"

"What if I don't want to be either one!"

"I'm not asking you to! I'm just asking you to accept who you are. Like it or not, Avery, but you can't ever go back to who you were. This isn't like that 'mutant cure,' there is no cure for you. We ourselves don't even understand what you've become. But one thing we do know: you can either accept them or cower in fear."

Tears pricked Ava's eyes as the harsh reality settled in. She wasn't ready to accept her abilities, but she also wasn't prepared for a life spent in the dark.

The two dropped the matter and continued on home in silence. When they reached their respective homes, Ava hesitated, wanting desperately for Peter to come with her. It was another night of emptiness in the Douglass household and Ava couldn't handle being alone at the moment. But he kept walking up his porch steps and without looking back or saying another word, unlocked the door and stepped inside. At least he didn't slam it.

Feeling more like crap by the second, Ava got inside her house and was welcomed by a hurricane. The whole place was a mess. It would've been easy cleaning up, but she didn't bother.

Kicking off her speedster shoes, Ava settled down on the couch and turned on the TV. She flipped through channels for a little while before settling on the news.

That's when the night got a whole lot worse.

Fumbling for her cell, Ava shakily looked for Peter's contact and hit the call button. It went straight to voicemail.

"No." She murmured, finally crying now.

" _It's unknown just how many lives are lost, but we will continually be giving out updates as the story progresses._ " The newscaster said solemnly. Even he looked to be on the verge of tears.

Ava threw her phone across the room, not caring if she broke it. She stared at the TV, the newscaster repeating the same old thing.

" _For those unaware: an hour ago, the Avengers were in Sokovia, battling what seemed to be an army of robots. We've been informed that its leader was Ultron, created by none other than Tony Stark– or alternatively known as Iron Man. The intentions of Ultron or the Avengers are currently unknown, but if you look at the footage here, you can see that the whole city of Sokovia was lifted up into the sky by an unknown machine underneath the city. After an hour, planes resembling that of S.H.I.E.L.D.s' appeared on scene and attempted to harbor as many citizens as possible before the city eventually fell back to Earth. Again, it's still unclear as to how many lives have been lost or what exactly happened. The question that seems to be on everyone's mind: will the Avengers be held accountable?_ "

That's it. This was going to change everything.

 **Alrighty so this one was shorter than the past chapters, but I wanted to solely focus on what will become the main conflict in the story. What will come next is the perspective of how people react to the Sokovia incident and how it will influence Ava's decision in route she will take in life.**

 **Also, Ava will discover very soon just what she is. Which also become another influence.**


	5. Chapter 5

Ava didn't turn off the TV. She turned the volume up to try to deafen herself with the noise. Knees brought up to her chest, she stared at the screen relaying the immense destruction. The newscasters already having debates. She felt numb.

The phone started going off, but she let it go to voicemail. Then it rang again. Three times. Four times. After the fifth, she sighed and brought the phone to her using her abilities with a single finger and saw that it was Peter.

Peter.

She didn't have the chance to answer since she was too late, but she heard rapid knocks on the door. She knew who it was.

Walking to the door which wouldn't stop banging because of the boy, Ava felt sluggish. Like her veins were pumped with lead, weighing her down.

"I'm sorry–" He began, but Ava abruptly cut off him off with a tight embrace. He reciprocated, whispering things of assurances and begging for more forgiveness.

"Don't." She whispered, finally breaking away. She bit at her lip, irritating it and causing blood to draw. "I'm just gonna say 'I told you so' and we're gonna move on."

Peter gave her a weak smile and closed the door behind him as they ventured back into the living room. Their eyes glued to the screen, they watched the story continue to unfold.

" _Ultron was a sentient robot designed by Tony Stark meant to assist in the protection of civilians, but instead deviated from its programming and evolved. Our sources say that Ultron had intentions of wiping out the human race with its base of operations being in Sokovia. The Avengers quickly responded, battling against Ultron and the legion of robots that the robot had created. Among the Avengers were three other unknowns, two presumably to be thought mutants and a third seeming to be of alien nature. The battle ended with thousands of lives lost._ "

" _This travesty begs the question that has been in all of our minds since the Invasion: are we safe?_ "

" _Are superheroes part of the problem?_ "

" _Did superheroes bring along supervillains?_ "

" _The death count has continued to rise._ "

" _We have received word that the two mutants, called Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver by the citizens of Sokovia, were actually natives of the city._ "

" _Update: Quicksilver died during the battle._ "

" _The Avengers need to be held accountable for the endless chaos!_ "

" _We lauded them as gods after the Invasion, but neglected to acknowledge that the source of the Invasion was because of S.H.I.E.L.D.: a government organization that had promised to protect us. The Avengers promised to protect us. And what happened? They created an evil that was hell bent on destroying us. It's an endless cycle!_ "

" _What will happen next?_ "

"This really is going to change everything." Peter said dreadfully. His future was on the line now too because of the actions of the Avengers.

"Don't hang up that suit, Peter Parker." Ava said sternly. The boy looked at her with shock, waiting for an explanation. Ava softened her edges and held his hands in her own. "Right now, everyone has lost hope. Help them regain it. They've lost their trust in heroes. Help them regain that, too.

"This whole goddamn mess has been a long time coming. But you, Peter, you were meant to be something greater. Spider-Man is a part of you. Don't stop. Not all of us are capable of being as strong as you are."

"You're tougher than you think." He whispered, staring intently at Ava. It's a look she hasn't seen in awhile.

Clearing her throat, she weakly chuckled and let go of his hands and moved to turn off the TV. It was then that the pair noticed it was already light out.

Once the incessant voices of the angered public finally disappeared, Ava cried. Truly, deeply cried. Like snot-coming-out-the-nose cry. Peter quickly wrapped his arms around her seemingly small frame, soothingly rubbing her back and arms.

Ava hated that she had fought with him earlier today. She yelled at him and yet here he still was, comforting her. That boy really is a superhero.

* * *

Peter and Ava never went to school that day. Peter needed to blow off some steam in the Spidey suit and Ava wasn't sure she could handle the commotion about Sokovia that would ensue. All over social media, people were already taking sides. It had become the most controversial thing overnight.

While Spider-Man patrolled the city, Ava remained in Station as usual. Instead of catching up on homework like she usually does, she decided to try to find more information on the sparse clues that Peter was able to find in the past about the Exposure.

There were the first files that they had come across, most of the details redacted and leaving only the names Jiaying and Reinhardt along with this Obelisk object. Ava tried to find more information on Jiaying and was close to giving up until she found some documents from the 1980's.

"Hey Pete?" Ava spoke into the comms.

" _Kinda busy._ " He grunted. Punches being thrown could be made out.

"You play around too much, you know?" She scoffed, rereading the contents of the document over and over again.

" _Keeps the job interesting._ " He replied. " _Hey buddy, I think the '70's called and they'd like their clothes back!_ "

"Funny." She noted dryly. Ava always relentlessly teased Peter whenever he made corny quips and jabs at the bad guys he fought.

" _Alright, now what did you want, princess?_ " Peter said after a long beat of silence.

"Found more info on Jiaying."

" _Do tell._ "

"She's been dead since 1988."

" _… What?_ "

"Yup. Oh, and the scanner's going insane, hostages at 4246 Broadway."

" _And just when I thought the day was gonna get boring._ "

"Be careful."

" _Always._ "

Ava's never been with Peter during hostage situations, but she knows he's dealt with one in the past from before she knew he was Spider-Man. Ava began to grow concerned, turning the TV onto the news now where it was showing live footage of the bank where the hostages were being held. She tried not to think too much about the potential danger that Peter could be walking into and instead tried focusing on finding any other leads other than a mysterious woman being dead.

Surprisingly, Ava found something else. But it was encrypted.

" _Arriving on scene._ " Peter said.

"Alright, they're saying that the guy hasn't asked for any ransom yet and one shot was fired ten minutes ago." Ava had bitterly thought for a moment that she could have been there faster, but instantly put those kinds of thoughts away. "They're unsure as to how many robbers there are, but it's an estimated two to three."

" _Alright, going in_."

For a few seconds, there was just static and then suddenly, Peter's jovial voice was heard again, taunting the robbers and keeping them distracted from the citizens. Looking over at the live coverage, it could be seen that the hostages all ran out whilst Spider-Man kept the robbers busy.

" _Five! Two or three my ass!_ " Peter retorted, grunting as he fought off what Ava assumed were surprise attackers.

She didn't notice that she had bent the metal desk with her hands. She winced at the sight and released her grip.

"Just stay focused, Parker." Ava said.

Ava didn't breathe until she heard the confirmation from Peter that the robbers were subdued and he was on his way back.

"If there's a scratch on you, there will be hell to pay." Ava said half-jokingly.

" _Bring it._ " He taunted.

When Peter did return, Ava did a check on the hero and to her relief there wasn't even a scratch. Which was some sort of record. It always felt monumental when Ava got better with her abilities and she looked up to Peter as some sort of war hero, but he too was still flawed and learning as he went along too.

"What's that?" Peter inquired, pulling up behind Ava as he awkwardly put his regular clothes back on.

"An encrypted file." Ava responded, moving aside so that Peter could take a better look.

"Woah. I've never seen a setup like this." He said in amazement, starting to type away. It didn't seem like he got anywhere, though.

"I can't crack it. This isn't like the time I got us the school wifi." He joked, smiling down at Ava.

It would make sense for Ava to be dismayed, but she felt the exact opposite.

"Actually… I think I might know someone who can." She said hesitantly.

Peter merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"Lip is really good at hacking into things he shouldn't be; I've heard the stories from him and Ian."

Peter began protesting the second he heard Ava say Lip's name.

"Avery, no way. We're not bringing him into this when we barely know him–"

"I know him."

"For like a month!"

"Try nearly five."

"Wow, has that much time passed? Okay, no, wait. I don't care. I don't know him. My identity is private, Ava!"

"He doesn't need to know your identity! He doesn't even need to be brought into your world! I just show him the file and he does his magic– won't ever know anything about you."

He found himself at a loss for words since Ava made a reasonable point.

"Fine." He groaned, falling back on the couch. "I hope you trust him. You're going to be revealing your true identity to him."

Those words ended up forming a big knot in her stomach that Ava couldn't find herself getting rid of.

* * *

Ava had spent a week building herself up to the moment where she would go up to Lip and casually ask him to decrypt a file that could contain the secrets to her abilities. The farthest she would ever get was that she needed to talk to him and ended up having it be about their math homework.

Ever since Lip finally enrolled to Midtown High, Ava and Lip began seeing a lot more of each other. It constantly brought an increasing flutter in her stomach, but also dread. It meant him getting closer to her bubble and at this point, it was close to popping with the favor she was going to have to ask of him.

Another was that things were already becoming complicated between the two. Never being invested in each other's lives, they were never really aware of what they did in their free time. Lip would always wonder how the occasional cuts or terrible bruises would disappear as soon as they had appeared on Ava's body. Ava would always wonder if the rumors about him involving various girls at school were true. They would both bristle if the one prodded at the other for information and the topic would drop unresolved. But it didn't stop them from wanting to continue to see each other whenever they could.

Lip actually lived a few blocks away from the Douglass household, but they hardly ever saw each other around the neighborhood since Ava either had work at the diner or work helping Spider-Man.

There had been one instance when Lip had waited out on Ava's front porch with a single, slightly wilted red rose and she had nearly revealed her true nature to him after a long night of tracking down an idiot with wings that liked to call himself the Vulture with Peter. She had nearly destroyed the Station when he escaped their grasps that night, the computer screen now having a crack across it.

"Been waiting for a million years." He said lightly, awkwardly handing Ava the flower.

"Sorry, pulled an extra shift." She lied easily. She took the rose and brought the petals to her lips and enjoyed their velvet touch. "What brings you here?"

"Felt like dropping by." He shrugged.

Ava didn't question further and she invited him inside. This was also the night that Lip met Grant. They immediately got into talking about baseball, losing Ava on the topic.

Eventually, she had to send her brother to bed, much to his dismay, and Ava and Lip remained downstairs watching TV until they both fell asleep resting against each other. They merely enjoyed each others' company and that was enough for Ava.

But now, she was scared of ruining the delicate balance they currently have.

As lunch neared, her heart was practically leaping out of her chest and having the same current English period as Peter, would constantly glance over at him for some sort of reassurance, but he didn't once look her way. He seemed troubled himself.

The bell rang, the sound piercing through her thoughts. Ava collected her things and rushed out of class, having an extra spring in her step that made her move around a tiny bit faster than anyone else. She knows that Peter will end up scolding her later on tonight during training, but she felt antsy. The band aid just needed to be ripped off.

Ava found Lip where he usually was during lunch: in the boy's bathroom near the gym smoking a cigarette. He didn't even look surprised or disturbed that she had entered the smelly space, but looked at her with… relief it seemed like.

"Haven't seen you around." He said, putting out the cigarette.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Ava said nervously, messing with a lock of her hair. "I actually… have a favor to ask of you."

Now this was the tricky part. Ava had decided that she was going to lie to Lip. He could not under any circumstances know the truth about Ava. It wasn't just the fear of being exposed during a time of rising tensions, but because she wanted him to remain as far away from the ugly of her realities as possible.

"Oh yeah?" He smiled. "What kind?"

"One that involves your hacking expertise. I'm trying to access this particular file, but it's encrypted. And you're the only person I know who's a whiz with a computer."

"Do I run the risk of getting in trouble?"

"Nope."

"You promise?"

"I do."

That was the only perk here: Lip couldn't get in trouble from getting into information that was openly put out into the web.

"Alright." He nods, walking up to Ava to remove some distance. It made Ava's heart beat faster than it normally does for someone of her nature and her breath hitched. "I can drop by after school."

"I–I can just give you a ride." Ava said, not capable of breaking away from his eyes.

"Alright."

Just then, a group of boys entered the bathroom and Lip didn't make any move to try to distance himself from her. If anything, he inched closer. But Ava had jumped back, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack as she walked around the boys and out of the bathroom. Behind her, she could hear hollering and her cheeks flushed.

"Hey, Ava!" She could hear someone shout after her. His voice was one she hadn't heard in a very long while.

"Harry?"

"Hey." He said a little breathlessly, a small smile on his face and a worried glint in his eyes. "Didn't know you were–friends–with the new resident bad boy of Midtown."

"Bad boy? Lip must get a kick out of that." Ava laughed, blushing slightly.

She stared at her old friend. His freckles were more visible now since the sun was out and his eyes appeared almost hazel in the sunlight instead of green. There was an ache that nestled itself within her.

"I miss you." Ava admitted, now looking down at her feet. "I, uh. It sucks that we're not what we all used to be."

"Yeah." Harry agrees. In her peripheral vision, Ava can see him walk towards her and she looks up to meet his eyes. "Maybe we can fix that? I really want to fix that."

"I don't think we can, Harry."

"We can at least try. Why don't we get together for one more movie night?"

Ava thought for a beat, thinking that it probably wouldn't end well. But it was a start. It was a good first step.

"Yeah. That'd be great."

Harry broke into a wide grin and walked away with his hands in his pockets. Ava headed in the opposite direction towards her last class.

* * *

"The Rising Tide? Why are you trying to get into this file?" Lip questioned, pulling up next to Ava at the dinner table and taking her laptop from her hands.

"For a buddy of mine." She said, trying to keep a casual tone. "I'm helping him dig into old S.H.I.E.L.D. files. It's a hobby of his, I guess."

It was evident that Lip didn't buy her story, but she was grateful that he didn't push further.

He began working on the file, cursing in frustration occasionally. Ava didn't understand the series of numbers and letters and commands he was inputting, but it seemed that he was getting somewhere with the file.

After an hour of working on it, he leaned back against his chair and pulled out a cigarette.

"That's as far as I can get right now."

"What does that mean?"

"Well all the firewalls are knocked down, but to unlock the file, you gotta go to the coordinates."

"Why do people make it so complicated. Where do we have to go?"

"Some coffee shop upstate."

"Let's go."

"I–uh. Alright."

Ava desperately wanted to expose herself right then and there, but had to refrain from doing so.

Lip gave her directions as they made their way to the café in her car. She felt antsy the whole time. This file could reveal everything.

 **So this chapter took a while to upload, sorry. But like I've said before, they'll come up every week or two due to other obligations I have to commit to.**

 **It had been some time since Harry and MJ had some quality time with Peter and Ava since shit went down and it feels sudden to spring up a rebuilding friendship again, but I wanted to provide a challenge for Ava in how to juggle that and also keeping a whole other world from them. And obviously as much as Ava wishes to keep Lip from that world, she's roping him into it.**

 **Will continue to see the tension between heroes and powered people with the public.**

 **Struggles with Ava being afraid of accepting her abilities and having the desire to use them will continue also.**

 **Romance will ensue. Although, it will be messy. Of course.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lol it's been a while.**

 **–**

They pulled up to the café, Lip quickly noting it's hipster-like vibe.

"I bet there's a guy named Chad working there." He quipped, giving Ava a smirk. She rolled her eyes at him and turned off the ignition.

The place did seem like a hole-in-the-wall, but obviously very trendy and had a few customers scattered throughout the place. Lip ordered coffee for the both of them while Ava chose a table at the far back of the café where no one could try to look over their shoulders at what they were doing.

Ava's anxiety was through the roof. She knew that Lip might want to look at the file he was going to hack into for her, and she also knew that whatever was in that file might disrupt Ava's relationship with him for the worse.

"I got you caramel, I wasn't sure what you would like." Lip set the cup down for her as he sat down next to her and took a sip from his own steaming cup.

"Thank you." She said, using the warmth of the cup to ease her nerves, but too distracted to take a sip.

"Alright," Lip began, taking out Ava's laptop from his bag and turning it on, "now that we're here, I can actually start getting through its defenses. It shouldn't take too long."

A part of Ava had begun hoping that it would take too long, so long that he would deem it hopeless. But Ava needed to know what was behind the encrypted file, what was behind the mist that transformed her into a freak.

As Lip promised, it did not take long, only an hour to crack the file. As it was downloading, Lip leaned back against his seat with a wide smile on his face. "I still got it."

"Thank you for all the trouble." Ava said.

"No problem. Could I have a peak at it?" Lip looked at her, eyes glinting mischievously. Ava knew Lip felt a thrill when he broke the rules.

In Ava's hesitation to answer, the file had finished downloading and popped up on the screen. There was a folder in the file labeled "Mission 95."

"Now what is this?" Lip questioned, leaning forward in his seat and clicking on the folder. Within it were a few documents, all labelled numerically. Lip clicked on the first one which revealed itself to be a Summary Report. An agent has gone on a mission to China where an estranged scientist, Werner Reinhardt, conducted inhumane experiments on people he kidnapped from a nearby village. Reinhardt had been a name that popped up in Ava's research in the past.

Lip clicked out of that document and opened up a new one, this one containing pictures of the lab that the experiments were conducted. Papers strewn over a counter containing complex equations, rooms of the cells the people were kept in, a bloodied metal slab in a cold, concrete room. It was all enough to make Ava feel sick.

"I don't think those are for your eyes to see." A man standing in front of the pair said, startling the two.

He was dressed in a black suit with black shades concealing his eyes. Ava thought to herself that she didn't expect the Men in Black to actually be real.

Lip and Ava exchanged glances and Ava saw something in his eyes that told her trouble was about to ensue. Ava grabbed the laptop from the table right before Lip flips the table over to act as a barrier between them and the mysterious GI man and they made a run for the back door. They run to Ava's car, her hands shaking as she struggles to get the key in the lock.

"Ava, you might want to pick up the damn pace!" Lip panicked.

As Ava unlocked the doors and they jumped inside, the man had run outside with a weapon in his hand. Ava turned the ignition, put the car into drive, and floored it. They raced past the man as he fired shots, one of them managing to hit one of the back tires. Ava nearly lost control of the vehicle before regaining it and turning the corner.

"Fuck!" Lip exclaimed, keeping his head down as Ava made several more random turns to try to lose their tail. "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know." Ava responded. She bit her lip as she thought of where they could go. Actually, there was one place. And it wasn't too far away. They could ditch the car and change into a disguise and walk their way over without being noticed. It was crazy and it would get Ava killed, but they needed to shake the guy who seemed intent on catching them and whatever they had come across in that file.

"I have an idea." Ava said as she made a sharp turn into a garage for an apartment complex and drove up to the top floor. She turned off the car and gave herself a moment to think. The man had found them somehow. "We have to ditch the laptop. But not without what's in that file."

"What's so important about it?!" Lip exclaimed.

"It may give me answers about my past" was all that Ava would tell him, ignoring his comments of how he was way over his head. "Just start up the laptop, we have to save that file." Ava searched in her backpack for her flash drive as Lip turned on her laptop, his face red from either anger or fear, Ava wasn't sure.

She handed him the drive and Lip started on downloading the file. It only took a minute, but it felt agonizing. "Hurry up, hurry up." Lip whispered to himself. As soon as the file was finished downloading, he ripped out the drive and tossed it at Ava.

"Break my laptop." She said.

"What?" He looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Break it!" She repeated, already getting out of the car and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. The drive was clutched tightly in her fist, feeling its edges dig into her skin.

Lip did as Ava asked and smashed the laptop beyond repair; or any hope of recovering what was on it.

"And our phones. We gotta leave them here." Ava added. They tossed their phones and ran towards the stairs, not having any time to waste by taking the elevator. Before reaching the ground floor, Lip pushed back Ava against the wall as a black SUV came speeding into the garage and heading towards the upper levels.

"Jesus Christ." Ava said, trying hard to keep her cool. "There's a thrift shop around the corner with racks of clothing displayed on the sidewalk. We take some and run."

"Run where?" Lip asked as they quickly walked away from the garage and towards the thrift shop.

"Just follow me." She said.

"I gotta warn you, I'm pretty fast." Lip smiled as they were in view of the racks of clothing with a large sign saying that the whole store had a sale going on.

"I gotta warn you, so am I." Ava returned the smile.

She broke into a run, trying to make sure she didn't go too fast at the same time. Ava snatched a few articles of clothing from the racks and kept going down the street, hearing Lip behind her heels. She turned down a random alleyway and before Lip could notice, unlocked the backdoor of an apartment complex using her abilities. She opened the door and Lip ran in, then closing the door behind her. They quickly changed into the clothes they snatched, Ava putting on an extremely large gray hoodie and corduroy pants, Lip wearing an "I heart NY" shirt and a tattered brown baseball cap.

"Okay, we're going out the front and walk completely normal. Even if we notice the SUV. The second we look antsy, we're done for. I'm sorry I roped you into this, we're gonna get out of this and then that's it, I'll be out of your hair." Ava explained to Lip, trying to fight back tears of frustration. This had blown up way more than Ava expected it to.

"I have too many questions to ask you, but not enough time. You're going to answer them once this is over." Lip said instead, walking away from Ava and heading towards the front entrance.

Ava felt sick at that prospect but shoved it down and focused on the problem at hand. Ava could easily sweep up Lip and speed away, but that would not only risk revealing herself to Lip, but to whoever was after them. He could be behind the mist, the Rising Tide, or the government. None of these options sounded pleasing.

Lip and Ava walked out of the building they had broken into and Ava grabbed a hold of Lips arm, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Lip questioned, but not making any moves to distance himself from her.

"Playing a part." She said.

"Here, you might want to let your hair down too." He said, using his free hand to undo Ava's bun and let her hair cascade down her back.

They walked at a more leisurely pace now, occasionally looking behind them to see if the SUV had caught up to them. After several turns down different streets, still quite a few blocks away from Ava's destination, the two heard a screech of tires behind them as the SUV came down the street. Lip stiffened under Ava's touch, but she held him tighter to keep him from bolting. They had to try to act normal, not like they were guilty. The SUV slowed slightly as it got closer, but Lip and Ava stayed glued to each other and looking forward, hoping their disguises would work. The SUV drove past them and Ava didn't even look at it, not wanting to give herself away by the tiniest mistake.

The SUV suddenly stopped a few feet ahead of them and Ava faltered in her step, but Lip dragged her forward and to try to hide the look of fear on her face, brought Lip's hand to her lips and kissed it before giving him a fake smile which he returned. The man in the SUV could be testing them. If he knew it was them for sure, he would have already tried to attack them.

As they walked past, Ava tried to glance over at the driver's side, but the windows were heavily tinted. Once they turned onto a different street, Lip broke out of Ava's grasp and ran. Ava caught up to him easily as he rounded another corner, heading in the opposite direction of where they needed to go.

"Lip! Hold on!" Ava exclaimed, trying to get him to calm down but to no avail.

"Let me go! We gotta keep going!" Lip yelled, anger rising up again.

"This is the wrong way!" Ava fumed.

"Get down on your knees!" A voice bellowed behind them. Lip and Ava turned to see the same man from the café pointing his gun at them. Ava stopped in her tracks, but Lip risked it and continued running. The man began firing at Lip as Ava dropped to the ground, terrified. Bullets narrowly missed Lip as he turned another corner and disappeared. The man started running towards Ava, the SUV abandoned at the end of the street. She didn't know what to do. The man was getting closer and Ava was growing more and more stressed.

Without giving it too much thought, Ava picked herself up from the floor and faced the suited man. As he raised his gun up, shouting, "Stay right where you are!" Ava took a deep breath and ran past him.

She ran so fast that she became a blur to the man and she snatched his badge in his pocket so quickly that he didn't notice. Ava kept running with her inhumane speed towards her destination. The subway wasn't that far away for her now.

Ava got there in seconds and once inside headquarters, she armed the security for potential invaders and hid inside the rusty cart in complete darkness. Sitting on the floor, Ava pulled out the flashdrive from her pocket and the man's badge. An eagle insignia was on it with an ID card of the man. Agent Coulson, Level 8.

"God damn it Lip." She cursed, hoping that he was okay.

Ava never moved once for hours, afraid that somehow shifting her leg for more comfortability would give away her position to the man who was tracking her.

A computer screen lit up, warning Ava that someone had walked into the station. She held her breath as a few minutes later, she heard footsteps come closer to the cart.


	7. Chapter 7

Ava grabbed a pocket knife from the desk and pushed herself against the corner of the subway car. The door slid open to reveal a tall figure cast in shadow. She threw the knife, directing the metal to hit the man's thigh. It wasn't until that moment she realized the figure was too lanky to be the man who was chasing her down.

"Crap!" He exclaimed, trying to dodge the knife but Ava stopped it mere centimeters away from making contact with Peter's thigh.

"Sorry." She cried, the knife dropping down to the floor as she herself crumpled to the floor. "Shit hit the fan, Peter. Real bad." The tears flowed freely, Ava finally knowing that for the time being she was safe.

"I have notifications set up for the security here. I saw that you armed it for invaders and I came as fast as I could. What happened?"

"Lip got the file opened." Ava started, trying to calm herself down. She showed Peter the flash drive and set it down on the desk. "It had to be opened at this café; the security on it was set up to where you had to be at a specific location to access the file. We get there and Lip unlocks it. It was more about that lab that Jaiying was in. Experiments were being done there by Reinhardt, and people working for some agency infiltrated it and freed the people there. There's more documents, but we didn't have a chance to look at it. A man looking like he came straight from _Men in Black_ showed up and we made a run for it. I had to abandon the car and our phones and trash my laptop. Lip and I put on disguises and I tried to get us to here. But Lip gave us away by making a run for it too soon. The man spotted us in his SUV and started firing, but Lip got away. At least, I hope. I did something stupid. I ran. I used my speed. I wasn't thinking and I didn't want to get captured. As I escaped, I took his badge. It doesn't really reveal much. Just this symbol, his name, I guess whatever rank he's in, and that he's an organ donor." Ava handed him the agent's badge.

Peter examined it and tossed it on the desk. He looked back to Ava with a mix of emotions that Ava struggled to make out. She couldn't tell if he was angry or _really_ angry.

"I'm sorry, Peter! I didn't know, and you were right, I shouldn't have roped Lip into this. I don't even know if he's safe! I should have followed after him, but I wasn't thinking straight, I just knew I had to somehow get out of there." Ava pleaded with Peter, hoping that he would see her reasoning. A sick feeling rested in Ava's gut and began to hate herself more and more as the quiet seconds ticked by.

"We're not touching that drive. The file itself might be corrupted and give away the location of any computer if we try to access it again. I'll start searching for Lip." Peter said and nothing more on how he probably wanted to murder Ava. Peter fired up the computer and started a search through the CCTV feeds.

Ava stood behind him, remaining quiet. Peter was definitely upset.

"Where were you guys last?" He asked her.

"Uh… We were not that far from that thrift shop that we go to sometimes that's on Broadway." Ava supplied, wishing she had paid attention to where exactly they had been. Ava was focused on trying not to get caught.

Multiple windows appeared on the screen with various security camera feeds and Ava spotted the location they were at.

"That one! With the purple lady graffiti on the wall. We were there." Ava pointed. The footage showed no one at that area. Peter accessed the footage and played it back several hours, looking for a sign. Suddenly, they could see the man, herself, and Lip. All in reverse, Ava and Peter could see a confused man by himself and then from a different angle, Ava appearing out of thin air on the floor, Lip running backwards towards Ava as she stood up from where she was laying. Everything that happened for Peter to witness and for Ava to replay all over again. How stupid they had been.

Peter froze the footage and played it regular time again, following Lip through the cameras. The SUV appeared in the lower side of the footage and raced past, turning a corner, probably hoping to cut off Lip. And he did. Another footage from the street that the SUV rounded on shows the SUV parking in front of the alley and the man shooting at Lip. He fell down to the ground.

"Oh God!" Ava yelled out, watching in horror.

The man walked forward and picked Lip up off the ground with ease and settled him in the back of the SUV.

"There's no blood." Peter pointed out. "He must've used a dart gun or something instead."

"It didn't look or sounded like a dart gun when we were trying to get away." Ava countered. They were real gun shots.

"Well, he obviously wanted Lip alive. He was probably using the gun to slow you guys down, not for fatality. And then used his dart gun to knock out Lip. Let's see where he takes him."

They remained silent as Peter tracked the SUV through the streets of New York City. Eventually, the SUV made it's way towards the countryside, where the cameras were set up further and further away. As Peter kept trying to follow where the SUV had gone, the footage became blank.

"What the hell?" Peter muttered, typing in commands and trying to figure out what had happened. "The footage was wiped. Security cameras within…I don't know, a twenty mile range or so are just _gone_. They don't come back to normal until an hour later."

"And the rest of the footage leading down the highway doesn't show the SUV coming out?" Ava questioned.

Peter checked and sure enough, it didn't.

"I mean, that's good. That means we have a general radius of where they are. What's around that area?"

"Let's see…there's two gas stations, a motel, and a diner." Peter listed out from checking on Google Maps.

"They must've stopped at one of those places. They could be staying at the motel considering we haven't seen them in any other footage since."

"Or there could be something else out there that wouldn't be visible online." Peter surmised.

"Only one way to find out." Ava said, straightening her back despite the fear that began to settle in her bones.

–

Ava had used her abilities to get them to the last place the SUV had appeared on security footage, but hidden in nearby foliage so that Peter could disable the security footage for a short amount of time.

"I'm going to have the footage playing on a loop for three hours. Hopefully no one notices." Peter laughed humorlessly. He was just as scared as Ava.

Instead of Peter donning his suit, he opted to wear civilian clothes with his tech hidden underneath his sleeves if things went south. He put away his tablet in his backpack and slung it over his back as he brought his hoodie up with his other hand. Peter looked over at the ansty Ava. She had been avoiding eye contact with him ever since he stumbled into her in headquarters. What she did had been thoughtless and careless, but he still loved her. Peter still hadn't brought up that Ava might not be able to go back home to her normal life for a while if they don't track down Lip's captor or if they do and discover his motives might not be the most savory.

"Alright," Peter started, "We're just gonna go down one by one. First we're going to check the places we know: The first gas station, the diner, the second gas station, and the motel is very last. If we have no leads then we're going to scout the area for any other buildings or trails."

Ava nodded wordlessly.

"We're going to find him." Peter said.

"I hope so." Ava whispered, trying to fight back the gapping sadness that was trying to consume her.

They walked out together and since the first gas station was still two miles away, Peter got on Ava's back and she carried him to their destination using her speed.

"It's a little humiliating and weird to be carried by you." Peter said, hopping down.

"Get over it." Ava sighed, taking in her surroundings. There was only one car parked at the gas station, presumably belonging to whoever was working inside. Everything around them seemed like civilization had abandoned this place.

Ava and Peter walked inside. Ava noted the burly man at the register. He had locked eyes with Ava and she quickly looked away, pretending to look through the aisles for something. She picked up a bag of chips and some water while Peter went to grab a Slushie. Ridiculous.

The man working the register seemed off to Ava. She could still feel his gaze on her, and it made Ava's hairs stand on end. He could be watching them because he may know more than he lets on or because not many people casually walk into his gas station and it makes him wary. Either way, he unsettled Ava.

"Not a lot of business here, huh?" Ava asked casually, or what she hoped sounded casual.

Peter walked up behind her and set his drink on the counter as Ava did the same for her things.

The man stared at the both of them for a long time before answering. "It's okay."

He grabbed their things while still maintaining eye contact. It wasn't until he looked away to scan their items that Ava thought of something insane and vibrated at a fast enough rate that everything seemed to slow down. The man was slowly scanning Ava's bag of chips and Ava could see Peter in the process of tensing up, his enhanced senses probably picking up the potential threat of Ava speeding and potentially ruining their plan. Ava sped past Peter and behind the counter towards the back room. Inside the office was the computer playing the security footage. It still shown Ava on the screen, but as a second painstakingly passed, she was gone from the feed. Ava would have to do some work to download the security footage. Ava sped back to Peter's backpack where he had some empty flash drives and took one, sticking it into the computer and sped back to the where she had originally been.

The man glanced back up as he felt a gust of wind, looking towards the door. Ava tucked away a strand of hair that fell out of place. Peter looked her startled, trying to communicate to her to stop whatever she was doing.

"It's starting to get chilly up here." Peter commented.

"Are you from around here?" The man gruffly asked, looking back to Peter.

"Uh, no. I'm from the city, but our grandma lives up here so we try to visit her when we can."

As soon as the man looked back down to then scan Peter's ruby red Slushie, Ava sped off again to the computer, not wasting a nanosecond in trying to start the downloading process. It felt incredibly slow for Ava trying to work the computer while speeding, but in all reality, it barely even happened in regular time.

"You might have actually seen our uncle head up here." Peter started, Ava returning to her place before the man even looked up again. Ava looked at him, afraid he himself might give them away. "We're all having a dinner tonight with Granny, and our Uncle Jim drove up here this afternoon while we were still in school. Any chance you saw him?"

The man stared at the both of them, his eyes revealing that he was becoming on edge.

"No, silly! Uncle Jim isn't coming until later." Ava tried to say, laughing awkwardly. "It was Aunt May who drove up here this afternoon."

"Very quiet lady came through here earlier." The man responded, surprising both Peter and Ava.

"That could've been our Aunt May!" Peter exclaimed. "She doesn't talk much, looks so serious all the time."

"Yes, that was her. Total is three dollars." The man responded.

Ava dug into her pocket and fished out three crumpled dollars. As the man accepted the cash and put it into the register, Ava sped back and saw that the download was nearly complete. But she needed more time. She sped back to her spot and the man bagged their things and handed them to Peter.

"You two have a nice day." He said disingenuously.

"Actually, could I use your restroom?" Ava asked sweetly.

The man handed her a key attached to a pipe that read "Ladies Room."

"Thank you." Ava smiled. As she walked away, she squeezed Peter's hand, hoping he'll know that he needs to distract the man at the counter.

"So," Peter began, Ava slightly turning her head to see the man start to look away from her. The second he did, she walked up to the bathroom, quickly opened and closed it and then sped away into the back room. The download needed one more minute. Ava could hear Peter chew the guy's ear off about baseball and heard the occasional, one-worded responses from the man.

The second that the download was complete, Ava ripped out the flash drive and pocketed it. She carefully crept towards the door, making sure that the man's attention was still on Peter. It was.

Ava sped towards the bathroom door and opened it. She slowed herself down and acted as if she was just walking out. She walked over to Peter and the man looked at her suspiciously as she handed him back the bathroom key.

"You didn't use restroom?" He questioned, eyeing Ava down.

"I, uh…" Ava faltered, struggling to come up with an excuse for him not hearing the toilet flush. "I had…lady things…to take care of." She answered vaguely, knowing the man would catch on and be disgusted. "Well, have a good day!"

Ava hooked her arm around Peter's and walked out of the gas station, turning around the corner where the worker wouldn't see them.

"What were you doing, you psycho?" Peter pulled away, looking at her expectantly.

Ava merely smiled and showed him his neon blue flash drive.

It dawned on Peter what she did. "You sly bastard. Good job." Ava pocketed the drive and they sped a few more miles down the road to not arouse more suspicion from the employee at the gas station if they remained there.

Once they found a secluded place behind some trees, Peter pulled out his tablet and plugged in the flash drive. He searched through the security footage and found that only one woman had been there during the same time frame that the SUV would have passed by.

The woman was dressed in all black and had medium length black hair and was relatively small compared to Peter and Ava. Her face was impassive, walking towards the back and grabbing two large bottles of water. She walked up to the counter and silently paid for her waters. What unsettled Ava and Peter was the fact that this woman stared directly at the camera and smirked before walking away with her bag.

"Okay, what the hell." Peter stated. He replayed the footage and paused when she had stared at the camera.

"She's connected to the man who kidnapped Lip." Ava said, hairs standing on end. But how? Ava never noticed her. But then again, the windows of the SUV were heavily tinted, she could have been inside the whole time.

"Okay well, Lip was taken at 1:50 PM and at 4:30 PM is when they first disappeared from the cameras. 4:34 PM this lady comes into the gas station looking shady as hell. We could be wrong, but it's too coincidental and weird for her to _not_ be involved." Peter said.

"And if she is connected to Lip's kidnapping…" Ava began, realizing what this meant and the panic swelling up within her once again.

"…Then they know we're after them." Peter finished, looking at Ava grimly.

They could easily be walking into a trap. Ava tried to assess the situation. They took the time to wipe the footage from the CCTV cameras, but not from the gas station's cameras. They were teasing them.

"We can't stop." Ava said finally. Peter gave Ava a bewildered look. "We can't. We can't give up on Lip."

"We don't know what we could be walking into, Avery. They know we're following their trail. Hell, they _want_ us to find them. There's a stink here. A stinky trap. It's a trap!" Peter exclaimed, getting more worked up by the minute.

"You wouldn't throw in the towel if it was MJ!" Ava nearly shouted. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. The wound was still fresh for Peter. He was still coping with the betrayal of his first love.

Peter stared at Ava, sadness in his brown eyes. "You're right." He said quietly. "I guess I've just been so focused on MJ and everything that happened that I've ignored what Lip probably means to you. I'm sorry." The hurt look on his face pained Ava, but she couldn't just let go of Lip.

"He owes me after this." Ava tried joking. "He did make a run for it after all."

Peter gave Ava a fake smile and they left it at that.

"Okay. So they know we're onto them. And they know that I have super speed. But we could still have the element of surprise if we play our cards right." Ava said.

"You're right." He agreed. "The sun has just set so we could go to the diner, act like we're ordering food for dinner. Do that same trick of yours that you pulled at the gas station, but don't bother trying to get their footage again, I can just hack into it while we're sitting in. Just scope around, try to find any clues since they might leave some behind for us on purpose.

"We'll see how things play out then, but if there's only crumbs like that lady, then we'll head over to that motel and check into a room and do a search there too. The trail has to end somewhere and it's within this twenty mile radius, that much we know for sure."

"Got it." Ava nodded.

"Let's go then. Carry me, princess." Peter smiled, genuinely this time. Ava laughed as she lifted him and zoomed towards their next destination.

The diner was much similar to the gas station: old and vacant. As the pair stepped inside, however, everything seemed refurbished. A woman working the bar came out as she cheerily greeted Peter and Ava.

"Hey guys! Dining in?" She asked them, sounding perky as ever. She had short brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a warm smile. She was also dressed in a black shirt and black pants with a small dark green apron.

"Yeah." Peter smiled.

"You and your girlfriend must be starving, it's a long drive here from the city." She said, guiding them to a booth.

"How'd you know we're from the city?" Ava questioned, ignoring the girlfriend comment and instinctively tensing up and sizing up the petite girl.

"You guys just scream 'city-dwellers!' It's pretty easy to spot who's from the city and who lives out here in the country. And you guys definitely don't go to the boarding school nearby, Professor Xavier implemented an earlier curfew for the older kids." The girl responded, chatting off their ears. She was such a sharp contrast to the other man at the gas station.

"Right." Peter chuckled weakly as Ava relaxed.

Ava and Peter sat down in the booth as the girl handed them the menu.

"What drinks would you guys like to start out with?" She asked, whipping out a small notebook to take orders.

"Water for me." Peter responded.

"Same for me too, please." Ava chimed in.

"Alrighty, two waters and I'll be back in a few to take your guys' orders. If you need to call me, the name is Skye." She walked back to behind the bar and then disappeared into a room.

"Okay, I'm getting into the security footage. You go do your thing." Peter said, whipping out his tablet. Ava nodded.

She got up in a heartbeat and ran around the whole diner, examining the area for any clues but came up with nothing in front. As she went behind the counter, however, she noticed several buttons underneath the counter including a gun and military-grade knife. Heading into the room that the girl had entered, Ava saw her in the process of reaching for her phone in her pocket. Going around her, she saw that the room was completely bare. It was devoid of any products or kitchenware. Ava remained behind the girl and vibrated at a fast enough rate to not be recognized. Skye slowly got her phone out and Ava inched forward to look over her shoulder.

Before Skye started typing out a text meant for a "Coulson," Ava noticed her tense up and Ava sped off back to the booth in fear of nearly being detected.

"What'd you find?" Peter whispered as Ava moved her hair off her face from it being blown in all sorts of directions.

"There's a gun and knife underneath the counter and these buttons that seemed out of place. Other than that, nothing. Literally nothing. Their back room is bare." Ava whispered back.

As Peter was going to respond, Skye came back out and the pair fell silent. She poured them their glasses of water and walked over and set it down on the table.

"Have you guys decided what you want yet?" Skye asked. Her cheery attitude now felt off to Ava. Everything was starting to seem off. Ava could reached out with her abilities and sensed that Skye was armed. She had a small dart gun hidden behind her back and a knife strapped in her boot.

"Just some cherry pie to share between my friend and I." Ava answered, smiling back at her.

"Sure thing!" Skye said, heading back to the room she was in.

"Ava." Peter said, looking down at his tablet when they were alone again.

"Yeah?" She worried.

"This place is a fortress. The firewalls put in place are way too advanced for some diner in the middle of nowhere." He told her.

"The end of the bread crumb trail?" She joked.

"Yeah. End of the bread crumb trail." He responded.

"But where's Lip? And the man? And the other lady?" Ava questioned, nearly raising her voice out of frustration.

"Your friend is safe." Skye said, emerging from the room again, this time her dart gun in hand. "If you guys follow my orders, we'll have no problems."

Peter and Ava exchanged glances. Peter gave Ava a small nod and she understood what that meant. Try to raise hell.

Ava stood up and made a move to go forward, but Skye fired her weapon at first Ava and then Peter. Ava quickly responded by reaching out her hand, letting her abilities reach out and stop the darts in midair. Skye looked on shocked, but quickly got over it and then dropped her weapon and jumped over the bar. Ava turned the darts around and shot them towards Skye. One narrowly missed her, but another reached its target.

Skye didn't go down immediately. Not before landing a punch to the jaw and kick to the knee at Ava. Ava kneeled on the ground, blown away by the power packed in that punch. Peter immediately responded by firing a web at Skye that stuck her hand to the booth. Skye used her leg to kick out at Peter's head but he side stepped her with ease. Skye tried to hit Ava again also, but Ava got out of reach using her speed before she could. Now Skye began to feel drowsy and as she passed out, Peter and Ava heard a hissing sound behind them.

One of the booths disappeared into the floor and the two warily walked over. Suddenly, the booth reappeared from the ground, but this time containing a man. The same man who had kidnapped Lip.

His gun was aimed at the two of them and he fired. Except what he fired wasn't a bullet; it was a strange mist. Peter and Ava inhaled it before they could back away and they could tell it was meant to knock them out, but it had little effect on them. The man seemed to know this, though, and fired it again. The second one hit them like a wave and Ava suddenly lost feeling in her legs and fell to the floor. She looked over to her side and saw Peter aimlessly firing off his web shooter. That was the last thing Ava saw before losing the battle of keeping her eyes open; Peter Parker not going down without a fight.

 **I guess I'm going to keep writing this story. Two years later. Crazy how that happens.**

 **And I guess I also can't say how my posting will be like considering last time I gave a schedule and that ended up not happening. But hopefully, I finish what I started.**

 **And I hope whoever is reading this, enjoys this story I created so long ago.**


	8. Chapter 8

Ava woke up in a white room. She had been placed on a bed that was actually pretty comfortable. Surveying her surroundings, the room seemed like any ordinary room that one would find in an ordinary home, save for the slightly off-putting, all-white color scheme. There was even a door, a window, and a couch on the opposite wall with a coffee table, and a nightstand next to the bed. The nightstand had a plastic tray of food on top of it, a plastic cup of water, and plastic utensils. There was unflavored chicken, steamed rice, and steamed vegetables. Heat still rose up from the food, meaning that they had placed it there possibly moments before.

She looked down and noticed that her speedster shoes and wallet were missing.

She felt incredibly sluggish, but she got up from the bed and headed towards the door. The door had a small panel and counter, possibly a means to transfer mainly food to the prisoner. There was also a mirror to look there where Ava could see a secondary room that had another door leading to what she assumed was outside of the cell. This unsettled her, because typically secondary rooms are meant to be for decontamination when someone is trapped in a room. This room did seem almost sterile, but a lame attempt was made to make it seem homey also.

Ava continued on, walking over to the window. She peered over and saw that she was in a room within a room. This outside room was made of concrete and metal and there was a door at the far end which she could see required a scanner to go through it.

"What the hell?" She whispered.

Ava walked back to the bed and sat on the edge. She looked over at the food, her stomach begging her to take a bite. But she didn't know if she could trust it. The food itself could be laced with anything. They might not go as far as to kill her, they made an effort to keep her alive for capture, but there could be a drug in there to make her weak and complacent. She couldn't afford that. She knew she had to arm herself for when her captors came in.

Ava tried to reach out her abilities to sense all of the metal in the room. Except, she couldn't. It was as if there was a broken tether that connected her body to her abilities. The harder she tried, the more frustrated she got. She tried to run as fast as she could and it was pathetic. She tried to lift up the bolted down bed but it wouldn't budge. Her powers were gone.

There had been many nights when Ava would wonder what it would be like to not have chased after Peter. To have just listened to him and went back home. To not have to spend months of struggling with learning how to adapt to her new self that made her a freak, that forever cast her away from the rest of the world. In this moment, Ava wished on every star in the universe for her abilities to come back.

"Peter!" She shouted out into the air, fear clear in her voice. Ava ran to the window and started banging on it. Fear had consumed her.

"Peter!" She cried out. "You better have not fucking misplaced a single hair on him, you bastards! Where's Lip!" Ava continued her barrage of insults, slewing out one curse word after another, promising to raise hell if her friends were harmed in any way. Even though Ava had no inkling on how she could commit to that promise since her powers disappeared. How did they do that?

No one ever appeared and eventually Ava wore herself out. She crumpled to the floor, tears and throat run dry. The food had gone cold by now. Ava reached for the tray and got a hold of it; she threw it across the room, food getting all over the floor and opposite wall. Ava remained there for what felt like hours, but thirty minutes had actually passed when she faintly heard the door from the outside open and close. She struggled to get up from the floor to look through the window.

It was the lady from the gas station. Ava watched her with hardened eyes as the lady with drawn back shoulders and a power felt with every step she took headed towards the entrance to the weird prison that they had locked Ava in.

The prison door opened and the lady walked into the decontamination room. Once the first door sealed shut, a strange mist shot out from various angles, barely being able to see the woman at all. Then once the mist shut off, the second door into the room opened and the woman cautiously walked in, but not with fear.

"Where are my friends?" Ava asked immediately, clenching her fists. She still couldn't summon her abilities and it was starting to really piss her off. She should be scared right now, but all felt was rage for this ridiculous game that they played with her and her friends.

"Contained." She replied crisply. "Are you ready to explain this?" The woman revealed to Ava the flash drive she used to save the hijacked documents. What started this whole mess.

"Who are you people? You know, others will notice that we're missing." Ava said, all the while still trying to somehow make the drive move, but she felt no connection whatsoever.

"We're a secret organization working under the government. Who are you and how did you get a hold of what's inside the flash drive?" The woman countered. Ava eyed her and noticed on her shoulder was the same symbol that Ava saw on Agent Coulson's bag. Maybe they were the real deal. They're the Men in Black. "Also that's not our worry."

"Rising Tide." Ava supplied, giving in. "I found it searching through the Rising Tide."

"What were you doing going through the Rising Tide's files?"

Ava shifted her balance between her legs trying to come up with something. She couldn't just reveal to this woman why she had been searching through encrypted documents.

"The Incident." Ava explained. "The invasion that happened in New York," she clarified, "What happened left me asking questions and I wanted some answers. After the fall of SHIELD, everything was online thanks to Black Widow.

"My mom died in the invasion. She was at work. It was a normal day until it wasn't." Ava looked down, ashamed that she had used her mom for this lie, but it was the most credible and personal one she could use with raising the least amount of suspicion; a grieving girl trying to look for some answers on her dead mother.

"And yet you got hooked on this particular file except for all of the other accessible data on the Incident." The woman countered, trying to poke holes in her story.

"That crap is all surface information. I wanted to try to dig deeper than that. I obviously came across the wrong thing. I didn't know. My friends didn't know. It was my search, not theirs. They shouldn't be in trouble." Ava begged, looking back up at the woman. Her facial expressions still revealed no emotions and whether or not she believed a word Ava said.

"You know, I'm surprised you don't notice the symbol I wear and the one you stole from Agent Coulson's badge." The woman smirked, relaxing her muscles as she sat down on the couch. What was this sudden shift in tone?

"We're the remains of SHIELD." The woman continued.

This sent Ava reeling. Just how much more stupid could she get?

"Wait…the drive and the badge. We didn't bring that with us." Ava stated, sounding more of a question than a statement despite her knowing the answer.

"Come on, we've known of Spider-Man's identity since the beginning. You're kids, not highly skilled spies."

Ava ignored the insult because she had a fair point. They were kids. Kids way in over their heads.

"This is what's going to happen. I don't buy your story. I'm going to leave and a friend of mine is going to come back later and you'll tell her the truth. You tell her the truth, and we'll let your friends go. Also try not to make a mess again." The woman stood back up and headed towards the door, not worried that Ava might try to pull any tricks. Even if Ava tried, she knew now that the agent would have her pinned down to the ground in seconds.

"What about me?" Ava questioned, at least glad that Peter and Lip would be okay.

"That's yet to be determined." She responded, using her fingerprint on a scanner that appeared from the door to get out.

"Wait!" Ava got up herself, tentatively walking forward to meet the agent's eyes who faced Ava again. "Grant."

"I'm sorry?" The woman seemed startled, an edge in her voice that Ava hadn't heard yet.

"My brother." She clarified, hoping that Ava hadn't somehow crossed a boundary. Was he okay? "I have a little brother. He's at a friend's house. He doesn't know. If you're really SHIELD, it shouldn't be hard to find that my father isn't much of a caretaker." There had been a few show-ups from CPS, but they hadn't proved to be useful in the long run.

"He'll be okay. I promise." The woman relaxed again, although there was still something distant in her eyes, as if reliving an old memory. Ava wasn't sure how trustworthy her word was, but that's all that Ava had to cling onto. With that, the agent left the room and exited out to the outer room where Ava walked over to the window and noticed the man who had originally chased down Lip and Ava. He met eyes with Ava before walking out with the other woman. Agent Coulson.

A small panel from the wall opened up to reveal a spray attack Ava's face. It tasted incredibly bitter as it accidentally got in her mouth. Ava started feeling drowsy again, faltering in her step as she turned towards the bed and used her remaining strength fall towards the comfy mattress. Ava struggled to keep her eyes open again, personally noting that they upped the dosage of the drug since it had been last used on her.

Ava passed out again, the darkness consuming her vision and clouding her mind.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Alright, this story is taking a crazy turn, I know, but this is how I originally planned it. Things will...relatively turn back to normal for Ava until it doesn't again and she has to make some tough choices such as keeping a normal life or sacrificing it in the name of heroics.

I will say that the timeline won't be perfect and not because it's been so long since I first posted this story, but because I want Ava's story to fit in a certain way with the surrounding MCU and my vision of it.

Also, I've noticed this story picking up A LOT of foot traffic and that is so amazing! I would barely get even 10 when I first published this and out of nowhere it's picked up speed. I honestly don't care about favorites and subscriptions or foot traffic, it's just really cool to see and I appreciate it nonetheless. So thank you to those coming on this journey with me.


	9. Chapter 9

Ava woke up in the same room. The same hot food. The same grogginess.

She sat up and grabbed the tray, setting it on top of her lap. Her stomach hurt from not eating. How long has it been since her and Peter were captured from the diner? Ava meekly ate the bland food. Once she had finished, she heard the outside doors open but made no move to get up and see who was coming to visit her. The previous lady said someone new was going to come in. Someone was coming in to make her crack.

The door opened and it was Skye.

"Here to take my order?" Ava joked bitterly, setting the tray back on the counter full of half eaten food.

"So you remember me." Skye chuckled, sitting down on the couch. "I'm just gonna cut to the chase."

This peaked Ava's interest, and she turned to give Skye her full attention.

"I know what you're really looking for. And I can give you all the answers. But first, you gotta answer some questions for me. And then your friends can go."

"And me?"

"Well, I have a proposition for you, but I'm not there yet."

"Okay."

Ava sat straighter, squared her shoulders.

"Let's start it out simple. Your full name and how you found the encrypted file." Skye demanded, looking cool and casual.

"Avery Elizabeth Douglass. And like I told the other lady, the Rising Tide. They had a lot of old SHIELD files. Came across it."

"You don't just come across a file like that one." Skye shook her head, seeing through Ava.

Ava clenched her teeth, starting to tense up.

"Come on, Douglass. I saw your little 'magic tragic.' I have some tricks of my own, you know. You don't have to be afraid, you don't have to hide. Not from me, not from SHIELD."

"SHIELD fell."

"Call it rising from the ashes."

"I think I'll call it illegal."

Skye dryly laughed at Ava's retort. Skye had a kindness to her, a true warmth. She was genuine and real. This eased Ava's nerves a bit. And she had to remind herself that Peter and Lip would be let go if she complied with Skye's questions.

"About five months ago I got caught in this weird fog. This fog changed me. And as you guys already know his secret identity, Peter AKA Spider-Man was there when it happened. It did nothing to him. He nearly caught the ones who caused the weird fog. Before they escaped, they said something about a Jaiying and Terrigenesis. Our only lead was this woman named Jaiying, there was virtually nothing on Terrigenesis. And we came across the encrypted file. It was a bitch to crack. But I know someone who's really smart and he hacked it for me. That's the one your friend kidnapped. That's it."

"Wasn't so hard now was it?" Skye smirked, pleased with herself. "One last question and your friends are free. What is the full scope of your abilities?"

Damn. They already knew about her metal-control abilities, but Ava wanted to keep everything else to herself. It would keep the element of surprise on her side.

"Come on, Ava. You guys didn't travel by car. How did you guys make it all the way to the countryside with no vehicle?" Skye pressed.

"I can run fast. Really fast." Ava caved, keeping aware in the back of her head that giving in would mean her friend's safety. Who knew what lay in store for herself, though. "That's how we got here. And I have the ability to manipulate metals. And because of my speed, I'm pretty strong and can heal faster than most."

"Thank you." Skye got up and moved towards the door.

"Wait!" Ava exclaimed, reaching to grab Skye's arm, but Skye whipped around and gripped onto her wrist before she had the chance to. "What happens now?" She asked weakly.

"Now," Skye replied, letting go of her wrist, "you follow me."

The second that Ava stepped out of the strange room, her whole body felt revitalized. She can sense every metal in the room, her body didn't ache as much anymore, and her body itched to run out of this mysterious place.

"I'm putting a lot of trust in you and vouched for you too, so don't go screwing that up." Skye said, walking towards the exit door that required a scanner.

Skye led the girl with the wild hair out into a hallway where people of a similar uniform to Skye's walked with a purpose and some with a great urgency.

"So how is SHIELD still here? What's the story behind that?" Ava questioned, matching pace with Skye.

"Well, when Hydra exposed themselves, the rest of us fought like hell for our agency and the world we swore to protect. We worked to take down what I like to refer them to as corporate Hydra. A huge headquarters hidden in plain sight. But the Avengers also did their own hero work to take down a lot of bases searching for a powerful object and when Sokovia happened, it sent any remaining Hydra members undercover and without anymore guidance. So Hydra is scattered and hidden in the shadows right now and we have agents tasked to find the last remaining members of a dying age.

"And in all honesty, it's the same for SHIELD. Whatever was left of us after the showdown, we retreated into the shadows too. The world doesn't trust us and we understand why. But we also weren't going to just stop doing our duty. So here we are, battling one thing after another, ensuring the world doesn't go up in flames."

Ava contemplated this. These agents only know war and they didn't know how to assimilate back to civilian culture. They would always have to look behind their backs to make sure there wasn't someone after them.

"So who's the boss now that Fury's gone?" Ava asked.

"You're about to find out." Skye smiled, leading the two up a set of stairs. Ava looked out into what seemed like a recreation area as the two went up the stairs and she recognized the lady from the security footage there, surrounded by a group of people. All of whom were staring at her. Ava immediately looked away, staring straight ahead instead.

They went down a narrow hallway and Skye stopped at a door that seemed to lead into an office. When she opened the door for Ava, Ava saw who the new Director of SHIELD was. The man who kidnapped Lip, Agent Coulson.

"Hello. You and I met at the diner." He smiled.

"Yeah. You scared the shit out of us." She retorted, shifting uncomfortably.

"Your friends have already been released from our custody." Coulson said, moving to his desk and sitting down, offering a seat to Ava.

"Already?" Ava questioned, sitting down. "So fast?"

"They were released yesterday." Coulson replied.

Ava turned to Skye, who had a smug look on her face. "You lied."

"I needed a good incentive to get you to talk. It proved a good one, you sang like a bird." She shrugged.

"Besides the point," Coulson drew Ava's attention back again. "Skye fought hard to hear you out. She understands your situation; she's been there. And we already gave Parker a version of the talk, but here's yours: you got to be careful. The line between vigilante and hero is a fine one. Lives could be easily lost, especially when you throw in two untrained teenagers. I gave Parker an opportunity to hone in his abilities with some help from an old friend. I want you train under Skye."

"First, Peter does all the superhero work, I stay behind the scenes. And besides, Peter has helped me train."

"You stopped being behind the scenes when you exposed your powers to us. And with the powers you have and your limited resources, I doubt you have reached your full potential and control under Peter's training. No offense towards Parker." Coulson countered.

"Why should I?" Ava asked.

"Because we can give you answers. And we don't want to see you end up on the news. It will be a pain dealing with whatever wreckage you might cause." He joked.

Ava contemplated this. Peter seemed to take the deal, but all without consulting her friend and partner? They've created a good system together albeit slightly faulty. Coulson wasn't wrong when saying they had limited resources, but they had kept everything running regardless. And what about Lip? What would Ava do about him?

"What happened with Lip?" Ava questioned.

"Gallagher was released, but not without some hardware. We strapped a bracelet on him that restricts his access to any computers or smartphones for a while." Coulson explained.

"That thing is a pain." Skye added.

"Okay…do I have time to think about this?" Ava asked.

Coulson and Skye exchanged looks.

"We'll give you a week." Coulson smiled.

"How will I reach you guys?" She asked.

"We'll reach you." Skye said.

Ava nodded and she got up from her seat. Skye escorted her out of the room and back downstairs. The group that was in the recreation room had dispersed by now, and Skye led Ava towards a new hallway down to a large metal door. Ava could sense the creaks and groans of it, the decades of misuse and it being recently awakened again. The whole building seemed old and everything in it save for the updated technology.

Skye swiped her access card and the scanner turned green, the locks on the door disengaging and opening to reveal an underground hangar. There weren't many jets in here, only seven at the most, but Ava figured it would have been hard to salvage any more during the fight with Hydra. They walked across the whole expanse to where a row of black, nondescript cars and SUVs were lined up.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to do something slightly unpleasant." Skye said, walking to a small safe and taking out headphones, a black bag, and a strange pair of cuffs.

"Seriously?" Ava tensed, not liking the secrecy.

"You can't know where the secret base is unless you're a part of our secret group." Skye grinned, walking towards Ava who put her wrists out for Skye to put the handcuffs on her. It locked in place and then a beep sounded out as the cuffs tightened to properly fit her and a thin blue light turned on as Ava noticed her powers dampened again.

"It's like the prison I was in." Ava noted.

"Exactly." Skye nodded.

"How?"

"I work with someone who explain all of it to you. But–"

"I gotta be in your secret group."

"You catch on fast!"

Ava sighed and that was the last thing she heard as Skye put the headphones on her. All sound was muted completely, there was only a faint hum of the technology working and small ringing in her ears from tinnitus. Skye lead Ava to an SUV and she got the in the backseat, buckled herself up, and then couldn't see a thing anymore either once Skye put the bag over head.

What the hell was Ava going to do?

* * *

AN: Happy New Years!


	10. Chapter 10

Ava was dropped off at the now-not-so-secret underground lair with a swift farewell from Skye, who had also tossed out the window her speedster shoes for Ava to catch, reminding her that she had a week to make her decision. Only a week? That seemed too short of a time to make a huge life changing decision. Ava was to either stay stagnant or actually have better control of herself while also finding answers. She knew that the answers were bait, that they really just wanted to keep easy tabs on her. But Ava just wanted some resolution. She wanted purpose. Maybe this was the only path she could take. Peter seemed to have obviously made the same choice.

"Peter." She whispered. Ava walked into the empty station and entered headquarters. She instinctively reached for her pocket where her phone would normally be, but remembered that she ditched it during the chase. Cursing herself, she fired up the computer and ran the locator that's on Peter's Spider-Man suit.

The tracker on the screen blinked to life, honing in on a location not too far from headquarters.

"What?" Ava stared at the screen in shock. _That's_ where Coulson sent Peter for training?

Ava walked out of the station, down the two mile-long walk towards the exit door that her and Peter took as added precaution. When Ava reached the door, she stared at the dim, glowing red light above her head. It flickered every forty-seven seconds, the tunnel becoming pitch black for three frightening seconds. Taking deep breaths, Ava undid the door's extensive locks using her abilities and putting in the passcode. Opening the door a crack, she bent her knees and got in position. Right when she exhaled, she ran.

It was hard to miss the building that Peter was in. Ava slowed down a few blocks away behind a garbage dump and then breezily walked out onto the street. Craning her head all the way back, the building loomed before in all its hideous glory. The building had been updated with a gigantic "A" plastered on the front, a remnant that had been left after the Incident when the building had been just "Stark." Ava walked forward towards the entrance doors. She had no plan nor any idea how they would let her through.

"Hello, what's your name?" The woman at the desk smiled, scrutinizing Ava with her eyes. Ava hadn't bothered to change out of the dirty clothes she had been in for the past few days.

"Avery Douglass. My friend Peter Parker is here. I need to reach him." Ava went the honest route, knowing that any lie she would try to conjure up wouldn't stick. The woman's posture changed at the mention of Peter, meaning that she knew he was here.

"One second." She smiled, although it faltered slightly as she scrunched her eyebrows. She was trying to figure out how to handle Ava. The lady typed into the computer and the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered, glancing back at me before looking back to the computer screen.

"Yes. Is that really safe? I understand. Alright." The lady said in a clipped tone, seemingly not pleased. Was she was actually talking to the man? The Tony Stark? She hung up the phone and addressed Ava. "Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker are expecting you on level 95."

"Okay." Ava responded awkwardly, surprised that she had even been allowed in.

"The elevators are down that way." The lady supplied, pointing down past the receptionist desk.

"Thanks."

Ava walked down towards the elevators, still in shock that she wasn't just kicked out of Avengers Tower. Upon walking inside the elevator and hitting floor 95, a voice materialized from the speakers.

"Hello and welcome to Avengers Tower. You, Avery Douglass, have clearance to the Technology and Defense division of this building." The british AI said. It was JARVIS. The robotics team at Ava's school had tried countless times to try to create an AI as sophisticated as Iron Man's, but only came up with one that was capable of reading out commands they would input for the robots.

"Cool." She said, leaning against the wall as the elevator shot up. It did go faster than normal elevators and it was surprisingly starting to make Ava a little nauseous.

Once the elevator stopped at level 95, JARVIS spoke through the intercoms again. "Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker are waiting for you in the last door to the right."

Ava stepped out and walked down the hallway. There were three rooms in each side. The first two were glass and there were machines inside assembling something. The rest of the doors were made of steel and required passcodes. Ava reached the door where Peter was in and tentatively reached for the handle. The screen on the door already read that access was allowed to enter inside.

"This is amazing, Mr. Stark!" Ava caught the last of Peter's conversation as she slowly and quietly opened the door.

There he was. Standing next to Tony Stark overlooking a blueprint displayed on a interactive hologram. Ava didn't know what was real anymore. This was all too surreal. Her life started moving at a faster rate that her brain was too slow to process ever since she had stumbled into the mist.

"Hello, you must be Peter's girlfriend." Tony Stark greeted Ava, turning away to look at her.

"Uh, not my–" Peter started.

"My coworker Maria Hill mentioned me to you. I decided to be charitable and start working on a present for you too." Tony Stark continued, Ava noting that the ego on this guy was in fact genuine and not a front for media frenzy.

"Thank you?" Ava said, not sure how to respond. "Peter." Ava looked to him expectantly.

"What?" He responded, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes.

"We have a lot to catch up on." She told him, giving him a pointed stare. He knew what she meant immediately.

"Do that later," Stark cut in, "come over here, Ms. Douglass."

"Ava is fine." She said, walking forward towards the counter.

Stark interacted with hologram, moving through files and found another blueprint. Ava skimmed over the schematics, learning that it was meant for her and more specifically, relating to her abilities.

"A suit?" Ava laughed humorlessly. "I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Stark, but I'm not a superhero nor do I intend on becoming one."

"Not right now, gotcha." Tony said, ignoring Ava's words. "And I'll make it look less flashy for you, you don't seem like the flashy type. Oh! And I also have this in the works for you. Parker told me about the shoes he designed for you, and they're great, they're amazing–really good stuff you did there, kid–but Oscorp doesn't have the same resources like I do. I can make it withstand heat and breakage for a longer amount of time. Just give me like three days to make it."

"I." Ava got out, too shocked to form words or any coherent sentence, much less her thoughts. Was this really happening? Ava had come here to drag out Peter from the building and knock him into the next century for agreeing to SHIELD's offer, but here was Santa Claus gifting the two.

"You're welcome." Stark smiled, closing out the blueprint and leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.

"She's overwhelmed." Peter stated, as if this needed explanation.

"Of course I am!" Ava exclaimed. "This is all too much. Peter, is this your tutor now?"

"More like mentor." Stark supplied. "I could take you under my wing too, plenty of me to go around."

"Thanks, but I think they have other things planned for me." Ava responded, to which Peter widened his eyes and crossed his hands across his neck behind Stark's back. Ava couldn't reveal SHIELD to Tony Stark.

"Who's 'they'?" He queried.

"My parents." Ava said lamely, knowing Stark wouldn't buy it, but he surprisingly didn't inspect further.

"Right. Anyways, you kind of barged in here during a lesson, but I thought to myself, 'let's not kick her out of the building, Tony. Let's show her the beauty that is Avengers Tower.'" Stark grinned, walking towards the door and Ava and Peter following in suit.

"Are you trying to recruit us?" Ava asked.

"No, still too young to deal with big league problems. But I like to show off." Stark said as they walked down the hallway and back to the elevators.

Ava rolled her eyes, but remained silent. While talking with Tony Stark felt like she was in a daze, it also felt slightly annoying. But she could see why people felt charmed by him; he exuded a confidence that made him seem more powerful and more attractive than most.

Stark pushed button 103 and they shot up.

"You look like you haven't showered in days." Stark stated.

"It's been a rough couple days." Ava blushed fiercely. Peter, on the other hand, looked clean and well-kept. Must be nice.

"Do you not have a shower? You can shower here, but I'm afraid it would be a long journey for you to shower here everyday. Then again, that's actually not a real problem for you with your nifty little trick." Stark joked, grinning.

"Ha." Ava retorted, turning away from Stark and facing the elevator doors.

"Arrived." JARVIS announced as the elevator made a gentle stop and the doors opened to reveal what looked like a penthouse.

Ava stepped out of the elevator, feeling awkward and out of place. Peter's hand brushed her own, his own small way of trying to comfort his friend.

"We can continue our lessons tomorrow when you get out of school." Stark told Peter as he walked past the pair, heading towards the kitchen where Ava just noticed that someone was occupying it.

Ava froze in her spot, immobilized. Now, _this_ was a dream come true. Ava felt an overwhelming mix of emotions: joy, anxiety, and also pain. He wasn't too far from where mom was during the Incident. She knew he tried his best to save her, but he wasn't fast enough. For a short while, she was angry at the Star Spangled Man, but that was when she was just looking for someone feasible to blame, someone present since the thunder god had taken his manic brother back to where they came from in the stars. But now, she regards him as her hero. He represented everything Ava stood for, everything she appreciated and believed in.

"That's not fair, why weren't you starstruck by me?" Stark joked, faking a pout before slapping his hand on Captain Steve Roger's shoulder to which he didn't wince out of pain, but out of annoyance. "Ava Douglass, Peter Parker, meet Steve Rogers."

"Hello." He said sheepishly with a smile and a wave.

"Hi." Ava said, blushing beet red and trying hard to keep her cool.

"You're embarrassing me." Peter muttered while smiling and waving back at Steve Rogers. "Mr. Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Please, just Steve is fine." He smiled.

"You're in our PE training videos." Ava said, not knowing what else to say so instead blurting out that.

Stark laughed, holding his sides as he began to wheeze while Steve stood there awkwardly, obviously embarrassed for those films being taped.

"I play those every time Rogers tries to argue with me." Stark said with a serious face once he calmed down.

"These aren't new recruits, are they?" Steve asked worriedly, a slight edge in his tone.

"Of course not! Parker here is my protegé and Ava is his girlfriend.

"Not his girlfriend." Ava sighed, hands on her hips.

"Young love." Stark teased. "And hey, superfan, while you got any questions here for the Man with a Plan, ask away while you still can." This made both Steve and Ava blush slightly.

"Nope, nothing." Ava said, her words sounding disconnected and awkward.

"Well, I'll leave you guys alone anyways. I have something I want to show Peter. Meet us out on the walkway when you're done gawking." Stark said, taking Peter by the shoulders and guiding him outside. Ava could hear them both laughing as she made sounds of discontent at being left alone with _the_ Captain America.

"I'm sorry about Tony." Steve apologized, bringing his cup of coffee up to his lips and taking a small sip. "He can be…Tony."

Ava chuckled weakly, trying to shake off the initial shock at now meeting Captain America. "I'm sorry, too. I mean, you're a normal human being–well, sort of–wait! That didn't come out right! I just." Ava fumbled with her words and Steve watched on with amusement. "Sorry. Let me start over. It's probably annoying for you dealing with the way I act, like some crazed fan, you're still a human being like the rest of us. Just physically better than everyone, but hey, still deserving of being treated with some normalcy."

"It's quite alright, miss." He chuckled, giving Ava a reassuring smile. Ava walked forward to the kitchen, her legs somehow moving without her control. Her legs took her to the island and she sat down on a high seat, resting her arms on the cool countertop. There was an itch Ava wanted to scratch, something she did want to discuss with Steve Rogers, but was too afraid to. Steve seemed to notice this, but he just stared expectantly at Ava.

Hurt began to cloud Ava's eyes, mush as she tried to conceal it. She looked over to the walkway where Peter and Stark were. Stark's suit appeared from within the walkway, the different arm-like mechanisms putting together the suit without the man inside as they walked alongside it, Stark explaining to Peter how it all worked as her friend watched on with rapt attention.

" _Is_ there something that you want to ask me?" Steve asked tentatively, Ava hearing him set his coffee back down.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it's too forward and too personal to ask." Ava responded, casting her eyes downward, afraid to look in front of her where Steve stood on the other side of the counter.

"Ask away." Steve said reassuringly.

"My mom was there. During the Incident." Ava whispered, looking back up at Steve whose eyes now reflected the same pain that was in Ava's own. "She got crushed by debris and you took a moment to get her out. You did and handed her to the paramedics that was a block away. They took her into a building where they set up aid and…there was nothing that could be done apparently. She needed surgery and it couldn't be done without going to a hospital. But the roads were all blocked and it was too dangerous to travel outside and even if they could, all the hospitals were on lockdown and at all full capacity already." The words flowed out of Ava. She didn't shed a tear, not capable of feeling much emotion. She wasn't numb. It was more like she was a robot. Just relaying information.

"Claire." Steve's voice cracked, looking pained. Ava looked up and stared into the Captain's deep blue eyes. "I remember her. I'm sorry that she didn't make it."

Steve Rogers remembered her mother. Claire. Claire Douglass. Both of them had a somber look, a shared misery. Ava knew all about Captain America. They teach lessons of him in every history class. She knows that he's had his fair share of losses. Hell, he lost a whole world and entered this new, foreign one.

"Is that what you were wanting to know? If I remembered her?" Steve guessed.

"Yes. No. I'm not sure.

"The paramedics that were with my mother came to our door personally a day after the Incident. I didn't even thank them for their service, for their effort, for thinking of her family and coming to our door to give us answers to questions we were agonizing over. But when they came, it turned our lives upside down. So I was mad. At them, at you. But now you're my hero, you truly are. I guess I just wanted you to know how touched I am by who you are and what you do." Ava said. She was amazed with herself with how much she was revealing. She was essentially opening up to a complete stranger. But then again, she wasn't really. He already knew personal things that she had never dared to speak to anyone else about, not even to Peter.

"I don't know what to say." Steve said sadly.

"I know, I'm sorry, that's probably a huge burden I just placed on you, as if you don't already carry a hefty load. And what are the odds you would've have met the family member of a victim from that day. It's probably not pleasant for you."

"No, it's not that. People have sent letters thanking all of us for that day, and also the opposite, but at the end of day I was doing what I was meant to be doing: protecting the people at all costs and as best as I can. It's just never easy when someone isn't saved in time."

"I've spent a long time coping with that same thought. But what happened, happened. And not one person nor one team can save the whole population of New York City. But you all saved countless lives. Hell, you guys saved the whole world."

"I'm still immensely sorry your mother wasn't a part of those saved."

"I am too. But it's okay. I've learned to live with it. Losing her, I mean."

"Did she confess her love to you yet?" Stark interjected, walking back inside with Parker. "Oh, it seems like you guys are having a real heart to heart. How sweet. Sorry."

Steve rolled his eyes at Stark, but looked back to Ava and gave her a small smile.

"It goes without saying, but you are welcome here." Steve told her, picking his coffee back up.

"Really?" Ava said, shocked.

"I trust you to be here and not leak any information to any yellow journalism outlets." Steve chuckled, walking away from the kitchen and heading towards the elevator.

"What'd you guys talk about?" Peter questioned as Stark ran up to Steve before he disappeared further into the gigantic tower.

"Oh, stuff." Ava shrugged, deciding to keep the conversation she had with Steve to herself. It gave a closure she didn't realize she needed until that moment. "I'm real glad I was being impulsive and came here with the intention to whoop your ass."

"Wait, what?"

* * *

AN: This is going a lot faster than I predicted, but I just felt like typing that scene. Originally, I was gonna have it be real slow until Ava officially met any Avengers, but hey, what the hell let's just jump right in. I'm also going to maintain in the story that none of the Avengers know that Coulson is still alive nor is SHIELD. Next chapter or three we'll see Ava's decision (which is pretty obvious) but also still at odds and trying to come to terms with her new reality as her broken friend group try to mend things at the same time.


	11. Chapter 11

Instead of Ava speeding back home with Peter, Stark had insisted they take the company car driven by a name given a nickname that did not suit his personality well.

"You know, I'm not a babysitter. I'm not a chauffeur. I've been promoted, Tony." Happy complained to Stark.

"Which is why I trust you out everyone to make sure these two get home safely." Stark smiled, patting Happy's back before walking back inside the building. Happy rolled his eyes and turned back to the two shifty teenagers who seemed out of their element.

"Hi?" Peter greeted weakly.

"Hi." Happy responded monotonously. "Alright, get in." He said, holding open the back door for the two. Ava got in first, scooting all the way to the other seat and Peter following in suit. Happy got in and started the car, nearly burning rubber as he drove away from the curb.

Ava clenched the upholstery and Peter placed his hand on top of Ava's. She looked to the boy with the world on his shoulders. What shit did they get themselves into this time?

The drive was only an hour long, short by NYC's traffic standards, but Happy drove like a madman.

"Here we are." Happy sighed, putting the car in park. Ava and Peter said their thank you's and got out of the car. Happy raced down the street, heading back to the famed tower of heroes.

Across the street, Ava noticed Mickey Milkovich and Ian on the front porch. They were talking, but it didn't seem like a heated argument. Interesting. Ava decided not to intervene and embarrass Ian as he has multiple times with Lip, but instead grabbed Peter's arm and headed to her home.

Opening the door using her powers, Peter looked shocked but said nothing. "Grant?" She shouted into the disturbingly quiet house. She didn't want to be alone investigating the house. It's been awhile since Ava has actually ran into her father, her life so busy with school, work, and training with Peter. But being gone for days at a time was unheard of for Ava. A number of things could have happened in the passing days.

"Grant? It's me! I'm home!" Ava said louder, closing the door behind her once Peter entered. The place looked a pigsty. Some beer bottles littered the floor. Usually, Grant picks them up when he comes home from school. It was already five in the afternoon.

"Grant?" Ava tried again, walking further into the house, inspecting the kitchen next. The dishes were piled up. Ava walked back to the living room. "Can you please come up with me?" Ava whispered to Peter, her heart racing so fast she felt like it was going to break out of her chest. Peter nodded wordlessly and they traveled up together.

"Grant?" Ava called out again, reaching the hallway upstairs.

"Shut up!" Ava's father shouted out.

"Marcus, where's Grant?" Ava asked, holding out her hand behind her as a way of telling Peter to wait by the stairs as she continued down the hall towards her father's room.

"Why are you playing dumb, you bitch! You fucking called them, didn't you?" He screamed from his room. Things clattered on the floor and Ava was at the door to see that he had threw his things on the floor. Pictures of their family, trinkets of mom that he never had the heart to throw out. All shattered.

"I didn't do anything. I just got home. What happened?" Ava said carefully, walking on eggshells. She was terrified.

"They took him. They were going to take you. They can have you. Just leave." Marcus got out through his rage. But he looked defeated and ready to break down in tears. She's never seen her father like since they lost her mom.

"What do you mean?" Ava said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What do I mean! THEY TOOK HIM YOU BASTARD NOW GET OUT!" Marcus picked up an empty bottle and tossed it at Ava who barely dodged it, the glass shattering behind her and shards getting in her hair and the soles of her shoes. Ava let out a sob as she backed away, closing the door shut and locking it using her powers. Her father came barreling down, trying to pry open the door, but Ava kept a hold of it with her abilities although she was straining. She didn't have the energy to fight right now.

Behind her, Peter raced to her room and grabbed a duffle bag and began stuffing her things inside. A few clothes, pictures of her and Grant, of her and her mom, and some other momentos. He darted back outside and grabbed ahold of Ava's arm while she still tried keeping Marcus locked inside his room. The barrage of insults sickened Ava, but her mind was screaming in agony at the loss of Grant. They raced out of the house and into Peter's. Even next door, they could still hear his rampage.

Aunt May thankfully wasn't home. Ava realized it was probably Aunt May that had the police come knocking on her door and they saw the state of the home and had CPS involved.

"I can't be taken by CPS. I'm 17, almost 18 in a month, I don't need to be put under strict rules and bedtimes. Not with the shit that blew up these past couple days. That means I can't go back to school." Ava rambled. It all sounded idiotic and she knew it, but she didn't want to be taken away. Not again.

"Ava." Peter tried to reason, but Ava spoke up again.

"No, Peter. I can't be taken by them again. This time it's different. It's the last straw. This is it. We don't go back to Marcus. We're not together anymore." She started sobbing, falling to the floor and slamming her fists into the ground. They slight indents into the carpeting but nothing that Aunt May would notice. At least, Peter hoped. "It's not a temporary care anymore where Marcus gets his shit together. They weren't even technically allowed to do that, but they gave us a chance, gave Marcus a chance. It's my fault Peter. We got taken by SHIELD and your Aunt and the school got worried. So they called police. They called CPS. Now Grant is gone. He was my responsibility."

"Ava, breathe!" Peter admonished, trying to keep his cool under Ava's unraveling. "You need to take a breather. We'll figure this out, but you can't act like a fugitive."

"Going to CPS is just going to complicate my life even more, I'm not getting put into the system again, Peter." Ava told him with a conviction that Peter knew meant there was no changing her mind about it so he relented.

"Fine. But what about Grant?" Peter questioned. "How are we going to find him?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out. I just. Fuck. I'll just keep an eye on him from a distance once I figure out where he is. I can't take him away from whatever home he's being kept in with those other crazy kids. It'll just throw his life into the shitter. More than it already is. They'll just keep putting him in home after home as he gets older until eventually it's in that hellhole that might as well be juvie. But it's away from Marcus. But it's also away from me."

Ava finally stopped crying and the night was filled with Marcus walking around the house next door, breaking things in his rampage. She couldn't sit and listen to it. As she got up, she winced and felt a prick on the heel of her foot. There was a piece of glass that stuck to the shoe and penetrated through. She pulled the shard out and felt her sock get wet. She was bleeding. There was still glass in her hair and limped over to the kitchen to try to shake it all out.

"Just stay the night." Peter begged. Where else would Ava go?

"I can't. Aunt May won't stay silent, she'll do what she thinks is best which is calling the authorities. Plus I just can't stay next door to that thing that was once my father." Ava said bitterly, taking out the last little piece of glass she could find in hair for the time being.

"I'll talk to her." Peter pleaded.

"No, Peter. She's stubborn in her righteous ways. You get that from her." She smiled, but it faltered and she frowned again. Everything was happening too fast for Ava to take in. Just one problem at a time. Just focus on the immediate problem at hand. Baby steps.

"Where are you gonna go then?"

"I…I guess to headquarters." She responded, deflating. There wasn't many places to go at the time being. Even if things with MJ had been repaired, the authorities would eventually come knocking on her door asking when she'd last seen Ava. Harry was also a different story. She technically could, but she didn't have the energy to deal with his questions that would be inevitable. "It's the safest place I know right now."

"I could go with you." Peter offered.

"No, you need to stay here. I'm sure Aunt May probably has you on house arrest after you came home yesterday." Ava pointed out to Peter's dismay.

"You're not wrong there. But still, Ava. At least let me give you a blanket and pillow. And some cash." Peter offered.

"I technically can't use my bank account now, they might be monitoring that." She sighed, taking it out of her wallet and breaking it apart with her new strength.

Peter took the steps two at a time as he raced up the stairs and grabbed the things for Ava. She sat down on the cough. Drained and in pain. She needed to muster enough energy to run all the way back to the station. Thankfully, there was a whole bunch of Parker's Protein bars there, Peter having made a fresh batch earlier in the week.

Peter bounced down the stairs, bringing down a backpack that was stuffed with the blanket and pillow, nearly bursting at the seams. "Here you go. And all I have in cash is forty-seven bucks, but that should get you a lot of snacks to hold you over for the time being. It's not like you gotta go in full-stealth mode. Kids run away around here all the time, the cops don't plaster their faces all over." Peter stated, setting down the backpack next to the duffle bag of her belongings Peter had put together for her and handing her the cash.

She thankfully pocketed and sinked further into the couch. Peter sat down next to her and rested his head against his shoulder.

"Things'll get better." Peter said.

"Will they?" Ava retorted.

"I don't know."

Ava got up from the couch, trying to hide her pain from Peter since she knew he would try more forcefully to stay in his home. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Peter hugged her tightly, rubbing her back. "I'll swing by tomorrow before my lesson with Stark. Maybe you can come with me."

"We'll see." She responded with a smile, breaking away from the hug and picking up the duffle bag and slinging it across her shoulder and holding onto the backpack. "Alright. Bye."

Peter started to say something but Ava already began moving at a faster rate than the rest of the world and walked over to the door, trying to ignore the pain shooting up from her foot. Once she opened the door, she ran. She ran as fast as could with an injured foot all the way to the station.

Once she made it inside, Ava armed the security and kept the lights off, but left the computer on so it's glow could dimly light the cart. She ate six of the protein bars, her hunger awakening again. It had been dull and in the back of her mind ever since her capture. The food that SHIELD gave her while she in the prison had not been very filling or sustaining to fill Ava's needs. Although she was still hungry, she stopped herself from eating more and decided to save the rest.

Ava set out the blanket and pillow on the couch that Peter had invested in. It took up a lot of space and was usually full of clutter, but it was obvious that SHIELD had rummaged around and didn't bother to put it back in its place. Actually, as Ava took a real good look at the space, it seemed as if quite a few things were rearranged. More organized. Strange, but nothing that Ava could do about it nor important enough for her to ponder.

She laid down on the couch and thought of Grant. His laugh, his serious eyes, his helpful personality. Ava always looked after Grant, but Grant had looked after Ava in his own ways also. He always reminded her that she needed to eat something too, got her little presents like small toys from vending machines or candy bars, turned off her light in her room when she was too tired exhausted from work to get up and do it herself. As scary as it was being in a foster home, it definitely was a better situation than living with Marcus. Just not that much better. But Grant is strong. He can take care of himself and do what he's told and keep his head down. He's a quiet kid, but he's not going to let a bully push him around either. He's proven that in the past when the school has called about fights he would get in at school ("I promise I didn't start it, Ava!").

Ava's thoughts also flitted to her only friends. Who weren't really her friends that much anymore. But she still loved them. Ava has moved on from what MJ did, even though she's still very much against it, she let go of the grudge. Same with Harry. She missed them. She missed their movie nights. Harry had once offered that maybe they should get together again and Ava wondered when that would happen, if it ever would. She couldn't go back to school anymore. And to be honest, she didn't have a desire to. The past few months, she had been doing badly at school anyways, always too distracted. Ava didn't know how Peter did it, but then again he's had more experience than Ava has with dealing with parallel lives. It was bad to be a dropout, but Ava didn't have the energy nor the drive to keep going, even if the CPS wasn't on the lookout for her. Surely, the school would contact them the second she showed up for first period. She couldn't have that. But, she could contact Harry and MJ outside of school. Just not yet. After all the insanity dies down.

Then there was Lip. That bastard. Her heart still ached for him, but he betrayed her. She doesn't blame him for running, but at the same time she's still slightly hurt by it. He ran away. She knew roping him into this life was a bad idea, she did it anyways. Ava had some choice words for Lip that she will deliver sometime tomorrow, that's for sure.

Right before Ava fell asleep, she knew what she had to do, but she was just immensely afraid of committing to it all. But that was to be dealt with tomorrow. Tonight, she tried to shut it all out and get sleep. It took her hours, but sleep did eventually come.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ava!" Lip exclaimed weakly, clearly terrified of running into the same girl he had abandoned. "He-e-y!"

"Hey, dipshit." Ava said harshly, rolling her eyes. Ava had put on large sunglasses and a hoodie as a lame disguise, but she didn't know what else to do. She dragged him down the street far away from the school and down an alleyway.

"Listen, Avery, I'm sorry. Where I come from, everyone just knows to scatter." Lip tried to apologize.

"Yeah, well that proved to be futile, now didn't it? Got captured anyways." Ava sighed, trying to keep her cool. "Listen, I'm mad, but I'm not. I get it okay? It just really bothers the hell out of me you didn't fight for me. I-I just. I wanted to tell you sorry also. I roped you into that mess. But again, _you fucking ran, Philip_!"

Ava stared at Lip, the boy still managed to take her breath away despite the setback she faced in trusting him. But this is _Lip_. He's the smartest idiot there is. She found it both endearing and annoying at the same time.

"I'm sorry. But that's me, a survivor. You kind of have to become one in the shithole I call a home!" Lip started raising his voice, growing tired of Ava's insults and anger.

"At least you still have a home!" Ava screamed out vehemently, eyes going dangerously wild. "At least you have your family." She whispered out, looking away down towards the street and hoping no one walking by would be alarmed enough to alert nearby authorities.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lip asked, still obviously upset.

"During our little capture, Peter's aunt was losing her shit at the fact that her son and his best friend hadn't been home for two days and called the police. They came to investigate and probably saw my shithole of a house and called CPS. God knows what they walked in on, probably Grant home all alone with Marcus's beer bottles littered all around him, he's only 9. We've had too many run ins with CPS before. They took him. They're looking for me too, I'm declared a runaway." Ava poured out, losing all the fiery energy she had just moments before.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Lip said, reaching a hand out to hold Ava, but she shrugged him off.

"No. It's my fault. I created it."

"That was going to happen either way, Avery. You can't control how your father is. And hey, at least being a runaway isn't considered illegal." Lip said. That stung. It stung because it was true. It wasn't necessarily inevitable, but it certainly was realistic. "And being in the system sucks ass, but your brother can handle himself well enough. He's a good kid."

Ava stared at this idiot boy. How did he have any pull on her? And yet here he was, staring at her with those blue eyes and a laidback demeanour. Ava turned off her brain and kissed him. She held onto him like a life raft and kissed him for dear life. His lips smelled of cigarettes, but Ava didn't care. They were soft and they were _there_.

She pulled away with blushing cheeks and avoided eye contact.

"I thought you were mad at me." Lip said softly, holding her close.

"I am." She told him, staring at his chest. "I'm going to be for a little while. You're someone that shouldn't be in my life, but I want you in it so bad. So badly. Even with all your stupid."

"Then let me be in your life." He smiled.

"I can't. And I can't tell you why. All I'll say is that things got more complicated with SHIELD and they gave me a deal that I just might give in to. There's not many other alternatives."

"I'm not gonna push you. But one day, you are going to tell me."

"We'll see." She chuckled.

They separated and stared at each other in this silent kind of glee, feeling electrified by the fact that they shared another kiss. The past five months had been painstakingly slow, but it was what Ava had needed–what Ava still needs.

"So what now?" Lip asked her. She knew he meant in terms of them, but she couldn't even begin to address what was in store for herself.

"I'm not sure. I just had to see you. But you're probably not going to be seeing a lot of me. I'm not going to school anymore." Ava responded, preparing for Lip to lose it again, but surprisingly, he didn't.

"Okay." He shrugged. "You're not the first person I've met who's a dropout, it doesn't really bother me." The word "dropout" slightly hurt Ava, but it was true. That was the word for what she is right now.

"Just stay safe." He told her, hugging her tightly for one last time.

"I'll try."

–

Ava returned back to the station where she found Peter waiting inside for her. He looked like he had gotten little sleep, and he was sporting a shiner that hadn't been there the night before.

"Smart of you to leave me a note that you went out for a little bit, I would've lost it." He complimented, relieved to see his friend and giving her a hug.

"We're not going to ignore the shiner there, right?" Ava addressed.

"You're not gonna like the story behind it." Peter winced, already fearful for the potential wrath of Avery Douglass. Peter sighed, sitting down on the rolly chair as Ava settled herself in on the makeshift bed she had created. Peter himself would sometimes sleep here when he would be too exhausted to make it home after an especially brutal mission.

"Okay," Peter started, "I was really, really pissed off. I wasn't thinking straight. So I went over there to your house."

"Peter, how could you, you idiot!"

"Let me finish!" He threw his hands up in defense. "I know it was stupid, but I was pissed off and there was still a lot of stuff in your room that I didn't have the time to grab for you. So I went in for what was yours. It's just I ran into your dad and we exchanged some words, and we got into a brawl. He packs a real punch, I was really surprised when he even managed to punch me."

"He was a hockey player." She told him. When she was younger, Ava would sit in with her mom to watch her father play and teams would always break out into massive fights and it was always brutal. The first few times Ava witnessed her father get into a fight and get punched repeatedly, she would start bawling and try to escape her mother's grasp to get to him. "He can take a punch and give one just as well."

"I'm sorry. But I did get a lot more of your things." Peter grinned, bringing up a backpack stuffed with momentos.

"Thank you, I guess." Ava said, giving Peter a smile but feeling extremely sad.

She took the bag and looked through it. Peter had grabbed the two photo albums Ava had; one of all of her friends and the other all of her family, before the Incident. Her teddy bear from her childhood. Some of her favorite books and comics. Some more clothes. Her laptop. And something from Grant's room, his stuffed lion.

"I wanted to snag his favorite one for you, that stupid purple colored dog, but it wasn't there. I guess he took it." Peter said gently, smiling at Ava. "So I grabbed the lion. We were all at Coney Island and you won it for him. I thought you'd like it."

"Thank you." Ava whispered, roping Peter into a tight embrace as tears slipped out against her will. As they pulled away from each other, Ava wiped away the tears. She needs to stop crying. She needs to be strong. For Grant, for herself.

"I gotta head to my lesson with Mr. Stark. You wanna come?" Peter offered.

"Nah, that's okay. Something tells me SHIELD wouldn't want me there to begin with. Which speaking of, why couldn't I be honest about SHIELD?" Ava wondered.

"I don't know the full story, but Director Coulson had asked me not to mention that SHIELD had sent me. That instead Mariah Hill had noticed Spider-Man and tracked him down and talked to Mr. Stark about it. Ms. Hill was an ex-SHIELD agent so." Peter shrugged.

"They wanna keep SHIELD a secret from everyone." Ava stated.

"Seems like it." Peter got up from the chair and grabbed his own backpack. "I'll stop by again after the lesson."

–

A week had come and gone and Coulson magically appeared in the cart waiting on the couch that had become Ava's new bed. She set down the groceries on the desk and let out a heavy sigh.

"Agent Coulson." She greeted, extending her hand. "My answer is yes."

"That's great to hear." The man smiled, genuinely. "Let me help you with that." He gestured towards the brown bag. He took out some large bottles of water and placed them inside of the mini fridge that Peter bought for Ava earlier in the week. Her stay here in the abandoned subway station will remain to be indefinite.

"Thanks." She smiled in turn. They put away her drinks and easy-to-make meals that are either pre-made or require a microwave (instead of using a microwave, Ava would vibrate her hands at a rate that would warm the food).

"Mr. Coulson, I do have one request, though." Ava hesitated, afraid of being turned down.

"And what's that?" He asked, giving her his full attention. His stare made Ava almost uneasy, his authority and strength overpowering. This was why he was the leader.

"My brother. Grant. Is there a wave of a wand that can get him into a permanent home? A really good one?" Ava's voice started cracking at the word "home." She was still breaking apart at the seams at the loss of her younger brother and held the stuffed toy lion close every night when she went to sleep.

"That's actually something I was going to surprise you with." Coulson said. "It's already been arranged. Word got to me about what happened and I'm extremely sorry about the situation. We didn't mean to tear your family apart, but the very least I could do was ensure that Grant be in a safe home. And the foster parents are open to you visiting anytime. They don't want Grant to be miserable either."

"Oh my god, thank you." Ava gasped, praising every higher being in all of the cosmos.

"Of course, Ava. I arranged for you to see him today." Coulson said.

Ava became so excited that it showed in small metal objects in the cart floating in mid-air. She realized what she was doing and controlled herself immediately, the objects clattering around the small room.

"Sorry." Ava blushed, mentally kicking herself for losing control in front of who would now be her superior. Which that in of itself was weird.

"No worries. Come on, Ava, we have somewhere to be."

Coulson and Ava walked out to where there was a parked SUV right outside. Coulson drove Ava upstate. The houses were nicer and cleaner here. There were parks and fancy restaurants. Important-looking business people going to important-looking places.

Coulson parked in front of what looked to be a mansion. In literal terms, not really, but it was a far bigger home than the one they once shared. It was a broken home, but it had been theirs. But maybe this was what needed to happen, for Grant to have a chance at a real childhood and a real chance at being taken care of properly.

"Here we are." Coulson said, looking at Ava expectantly. "I'll wait in the car."

Ava nodded wordlessly and unstrapped her seatbelt. Every motion she made felt sluggish and shaky. But using every ounce of strength that she had, she opened the car door and put one foot in front of the other. She was so anxious to see Grant again and she wasn't even completely sure why.

Ava rang the doorbell and heard the distant ring that sounded within the home. A bolt could be heard being undone and a clicking of the lock turning. Then the door opened. A woman with a bright smile and a strong physique answered the door.

"Hello, you must be Avery. I'm Lucinda Day. Please, come right in." Mrs. Day said, opening the door wide to allow Ava to step inside.

The floors were a dark wood and the house was decorated tastefully. Portraits of the Day family adorned the walls along with thought-provoking paintings and a mini Roman-era statue rested on top of a counter. Rich.

"Ava?" A small voice called out from around the corner. The body soon catched up with the voice and Ava stilled as her brother approached her. They tackled each other in a tight embrace as Mrs. Day watched on with misty eyes.

"Grant, I'm so sorry." Ava whispered, squeezing him harder. "But you're someplace safer now."

"It's not the same!" Grant cried, breaking down from the stress of having to change lives.

"I'll let you two have some time alone." Mrs. Day said softly, walking away into the labyrinthine home.

"She seems really nice." Ava tried making light of the situation.

"She is. And her husband too. But they're not _you_. They're not _family_." Grant sniffled, Ava wiping away his tears. They both sat down on the floor as Ava held him.

"I know, I know. But they're here to take care of you. You don't have to call them mom and dad and I'm pretty sure they would understand that. But Grant, Daddy wasn't a good person and we both know that. You have a chance to have fun now. You can have friends to play with, do good in school, play video games." Ava said.

"But what about you?" Grant said, staring at Ava almost defiantly. There was always a passion in Grant that never stopped to surprise Ava.

"I'm going to be fine. I'm being looked after now too." She said, which wasn't a complete lie. Ava was being watched by SHIELD. "And Grant. This isn't going to be the last time we see each other. Mr. and Mrs. Day is going to let me visit you all I want. I'll come by all the time."

"Promise?"

"I promise."


	13. Chapter 13

Ava having a chance to see Grant before heading to the secret SHIELD underground lair brightened her spirits immensely. Which, thankfully this time, Ava didn't have to be hidden from anymore. She had been shaking her leg up and down, nervous the whole way. Ava didn't exactly know what she had in store for her. Yes, she knew they were training her, but what would that training entail? How would she be treated? Could she leave whenever she wanted? These thoughts and more raced through her head and she wanted to kick herself for not thinking this through all the way. But then again, what other option did she have? What other life did she have?

They reached the countryside and Ava noticed how Coulson pulled into the same diner that Ava and Peter had been ambushed. The diner? Ava kept silent as they got out of the car and walked inside. This time, there was a man with an earpiece behind the bar and he nodded to Coulson and in turn, to Ava also.

Coulson sat down in the booth. The same booth that Ava remembers Coulson had emerged from.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in realization as she sat down with him.

"Yup." Coulson smiled. He pushed a button underneath the table and air hissed out and locks shifted and the booth shifted downwards.

Once they made it all the way down, they were at the end of an empty hallway.

"This way." Coulson said. Ava followed after the suited agent and he led her to another hallway where there were more agents bustling about.

They walked into an open room where medical equipment was set up around the whole space. There were several agents donning lab coats, one on a computer running simulation tests in the back, and two others hovering over a counter going over data with each other. There was also two others present, at the forefront of the room and going back and forth with each other.

"It's simple kinetics!" The man with the heavy Scottish accent exclaimed, throwing his arms out for greater emphasis.

"Oh, please! I majored in _biochemistry_ , Fitz, and I think even despite that, I have a pretty good handle on _simple kinetics_. And kinematics for that matter." The woman turned her nose up, her British accent clear and present.

Coulson cleared his throat and the two broke away from their argument and stood at attention, although the Scott still looked slightly annoyed. Ava found it slightly amusing herself.

"Mr. Coulson! A-a-and I assume that this is Ms. Douglass. Wonderful to meet you. I'm Jemma Simmons." Jemma introduced herself, walking forward and extending a hand out for Ava to shake to which she did.

"Ava is just fine." She smiled and suddenly there was the other shaking her hand.

"I'm Fitz."

The two were quite an interesting pair. Jemma had a sweetness to her while Fitz had an awkwardness that made him come off too strong.

"Fitz-Simmons here are quite the pair." Coulson complimented the two to Ava.

"Aw, it's been awhile since we've been called that." Jemma clicked her tongue, smiling.

"Such a great nickname." Fitz smiled while also seeming tortured by it for whatever reason.

"Fitz here has made you some things that he thinks will be greatly beneficial to you." Coulson said.

"Yes! Right." Fitz clapped his hands together and ran to the back of the room.

Ava watched on after him, silently wondering to him if he takes drugs.

"Here we are." He said proudly, setting various things on the table. One of them was a box, the other a block of metal, and the last a cell phone.

Ava watched on, unsure what to say or how to react. Fitz and Simmons looked on excitedly, and it was almost laughable. Their eagerness was innocent and insane.

"What are these?" Ava asked, pointing towards the items in question.

"Item number one!" Simmons exclaimed, lifting up the lid to reveal a pair of shoes. They bore resemblance to Ava's own speedster shoes, but sleeker.

"We were informed that your bestie Spider-Man had made you special shoes, and while Oscorp is innovative, they lack the best of the best materials. So I made these for you, meaning that they are better and will actually make you faster–" Fitz was going to into the science behind it, but Jemma swiftly cut him off.

"Just leave it at that Fitz." She said suggestively, to which Fitz took the hint.

"Right, fine. This next one here is vibranium." Fitz presented, lifting the metal. "This metal right here, is the strongest metal in the whole universe. And it's extremely hard to come by. This is what's used in Captain America's SHIELD. We can also train with you on how you can use this to your fullest potential. It's a block right now because you will be able to shape it to be anything you want."

"That's actually pretty cool." Ava complimented.

"Thank you, thank you. And this last thing here is just a SHIELD issued phone." Fitz shrugged.

"Thank you, Fitz." Ava said, stepping forward and grabbing the items from the table.

"You are welcome in here anytime." Jemma smiled warmly at Ava.

"Maybe I'll stop by." Ava said out loud. She remained cool on the outside, but was kicking herself on the inside for actually _flirting_. Idiot.

Ava followed after Coulson, trying to avoid contact with a surprised Fitz and a poker faced Jemma. Ava could distantly hear Fitz say, "You know, I think she likes me."

Ava could hear Coulson let out a sigh as he heard the comment too. The man held himself confidently, a seriousness clouding his arua. But there was also something more childlike about him. He could relate himself to nearly anybody, which is probably why he is capable of earning people's trust, including now Ava's. Ava knew better than to let her guard down, but she knew that this man sticks to his word.

"You recall Agent May? She was the one who interrogated you first." Coulson spoke up, opening up a door that revealed a training room. Weights and other lifting equipment was lined up against the walls and in the very center was matted, where there sat on the floor Agent May. "May here is going to help with your training."

"Hi." She said impassively as she got up from the ground and walked across the room to shake hands with Ava. She had a very firm grip, bordering on painful.

"Hello." Ava said through a tight smile. Ava knew she was going to have her ass handed to her by this woman.

–

After a straight hour and a half of training with May, Ava collapsed to the floor in a sweaty heap. May put her through an intense and rigorous training. There was no use of her powers, it was using her physical strength alone. Which before going through the mist, Ava had very little of. Now that Ava had this new strength from her enhanced powers, Ava and Peter had oftentimes trained together since she could now catch up with him, but what May put her through was completely new.

May had Ava train nonstop with no breaks and just barely pushing her weight limit. Who knew that she could reach 650 lbs?

"You're dramatic." May stated, although Ava could perceive her attempt at being joking and light.

"You're crazy." Ava retorted. Ava could have sworn that she saw the woman let out a small smirk before recomposing herself.

May shot out her hand for Ava to take. Ava got up and thanked May for the help. May also tossed her a water bottle which Ava finished in mere seconds. She walked over to the cooler where the rest were and Ava continued to down five more bottles.

"Wow." May said. Ava gave a weak laugh and meek smile and picked up all the empty plastic bottles and put them in the recycling bin.

"That's nice. Secret government agency that's so secret that even our own government doesn't know about it is eco-friendly." Ava crooned to try to make May smile once again. But this time, nothing. "So, what now?"

"Now, you take a three minute break and then we go back at it."

Ava groaned in response.

–

After training, May had escorted Ava to a loft area where she was devouring a whole two boxes of pizza to herself. May watched on in quiet fascination.

"God damn, that's even more than I can chew." A man whistled. His was voice deep and he was extremely tall. Ava looked to him like a deer caught in headlights in the middle of taking an enormous bite from her pepperoni pizza.

"Ava, meet Mack." May introduced the two.

"Nice to meet ya." Mack smiled. His dark brown eyes were warm and friendly. Ava wiped her hand clean from the grease with her napkin and then shook his hand. His grip was gentle, although Ava knew this man could crush her with ease.

"Want a slice?" Ava offered, voice muffled from the food in her mouth.

"No, that's alright. Seems like you need it more than me." He laughed. Even his voice carried a strength with him.

Ava smiled and kept on eating. Now both Mack and May were watching her eat and Fitz joined the audience. They all stood there from a small distance as Ava sat down on the couch, hunched over the coffee table. She glanced over at the small group and stilled, eyeing them warily.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked, swallowing her second to last slice.

"Watching." They responded in unison.

"Why?"

May shrugged, Mack said, "You just ate two boxes all by yourself," while Fitz commented, "It's just so fascinating!"

She blushed ruby red, but she still didn't hesitate to grab the last slice. Her first training day at SHIELD proved to be something amusing. It was more lighthearted than Ava expected. She wasn't sure if it was just their natural state, or if it's all just through her happy lens after finally being able to see Grant. Ava has a real hope that Grant will get his deserving happy ending.

Jemma walked up with Skye including some other man who had an obnoxious British accent and a tall blonde woman who Ava could've sworn bore a resemblance to an Amazon goddess.

"This the new girl?" The man said.

"Yes, it is. Ava Douglass, meet Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse." Skye introduced the two.

"Hello." Ava smiled, getting up to greet the two with a customary handshake.

They exchanged pleasantries and Ava quickly noticed how Bobbi meant business and Lance was too childish to take things seriously. But the two seemed kind enough. This whole group did. Ava quickly caught on that this must be their team. Sort of like the Avengers, but more in the shadows. They didn't care about the glory. They didn't need it. They fought on, protecting a world that didn't trust them anymore.

The whole group sat around in various places in the loft and began an easy conversation. Mostly Lance, Fitz, Skye, and Mack spearheaded the conversations, these people the most extrovert out of everyone. May kept to herself, but she seemed more relaxed than Ava has ever seen her so far. Jemma made sure to ask Ava plenty of questions (Jemma somehow knowing to avoid sensitive topics such as school or her family) as a way of trying to make her feel more included.

Their sense of camaraderie almost made Ava miss her own friends. Harry, MJ, and Peter. All four of them together. Ava had half-heartedly promised Harry a reunion, and Ava still felt indebted to fulfilling that somehow. She wanted to go back to them having lunches together and laughing about whatever gossip was floating around at school. To go back to their late night movies at Harry's house. To go back to running around the town together. To go back to trying to trip Harry in the hallways. To go back to having dinners at MJ's house. To go back to Skyping Peter all night long. Ava wanted everything back, but she knew things could never go back to way things were. Especially now.

May received a text message and looked down. "Morse, Lance, with me." She instructed, getting up and heading towards the stairs. Bobbi and Lance followed after, bidding Ava a goodbye and great-to-meet-you.

"We should probably get to work." Jemma sighed unhappily, getting up from the floor and nodding her head at Fitz, who reluctantly peeled himself off the couch to go with her towards the labs.

"I'll follow you guys, if that's alright." Ava asked nervously, picking up her things.

"Of course!" Jemma exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Ava smiled back and followed the two back to the lab that was around the corner. Ava glanced back to Mack and Skye, who were now talking and glanced back over at Ava who turned away at the sudden eye contact.

"Have you tried out the shoes yet?" Fitz asked excitedly.

"No, not yet. Coulson wants me to build up some stamina and get stronger first before training with my powers." Ava responded, sitting down on a rolly chair and absentmindedly fiddling with the block of vibranium Fitz had gifted her. It was lightweight for its size, but also powerful. Ava could sense it. The metal did not feel familiar, definitely not of this earth. Captain America's shield was made of this? Damn.

Fitz frowned, but it was quickly wiped away as a scientist walked up with a tablet and began asking Fitz a flurry of technical questions that he began answering with ease. Jemma sat down next to Ava at a computer and began typing away, inputting data into a spreadsheet.

"What are you guys doing?" Ava asked, pulling in closer to inspect the papers strewn all over the desk. Very little of it made sense to Ava, this coming from a girl who would pride herself in her scientific and slightly mechanical abilities.

"Well, our team is always faced with the inevitable. And we try our best to stay on top of it. So most of our work goes towards finding cures or any biological research–that's what I specialize in–or new weapons–that's what Fitz specializes in–to ensure that our team is prepared. Right now, I'm creating the log for you. It's mostly for Fitz and I to access for any need you may have in the future. I'll know how to treat you properly if you're ever injured and Fitz will know how to arm you with things that will suit to your abilities. And with Inhumans like yourself being thrown into the world, Fitz and I work together to create objects that can be tailored to, for example, yourself."

"Inhumans?"

"Yes. That's what…people like you and Skye are referred to as by your own."

"My own?" Ava's head began to go in circles. These were the answers that Ava spent half a year looking for and here they all were. With SHIELD.

"Skye will have a better way of explaining it to you." Jemma nodded, going back to her data.

Ava remained silent, trying to think. Inhumans. Set apart. Other than. A secret…species that the world didn't know about, but yet a title was appointed to them to make them separate from the rest of the human race.

Ava decided not to think about it further, knowing that Skye would give her all of the information when she would confront her about it before she left base. Instead, Ava put her focus on Fitz. He was tinkering with various objects on the lit up table. There was also the same gun that she recognized from when she had been apprehended from them.

She got up and walked over to Fitz, sneaking up behind him. "What does that do?" She asked, breaking the sudden silence and jolting Fitz out of his concentration.

"God! Do not do that again!" He stressed. "And this? It's the Night-Night Pistol."

"Fitz, we don't call it that." Jemma admonished.

" _Fine_. It's an advanced tranquilizer with a freezing component to it." He explained, holding up the Night-Night Pistol. Ava liked the name, it made things less serious and scary here.

"Freezing component?"

"Simply put, there's a chemical agent inside that when put in the body, temporarily 'freezes' a person. It's like you're a deer caught in headlights, but a continuous loop. The higher the concentration, the longer the effects will last. But having it too high can and will kill someone."

"Oh. Simply put." Ava shrugged.

"Yes." Fitz smiled, missing the sarcasm in Ava's voice. Jemma noticed it and rolled her eyes at Fitz and went back to her work, this time it being something different.

"So what are you good at in school?" Fitz questioned, sounding like he was testing Ava. Was she a geek or a jock or a nobody?

"I did pretty good in physics and I was meant to start a mechanical engineering unit next semester, but. Uh, yeah. School isn't in the cards right now. But I know fundamental basics, some concepts, but that's all. We don't really go in depth in high school."

"High school?" Fitz said surprised. "You're only in high school?"

"Senior year, yeah." She blushed.

"How old are you?"

"I'm actually turning 19 in a few months, I was held back a year in elementary school." She chuckled weakly. It was never brought up and only her close friends knew this, but Ava had struggled immensely with school when she was younger. All the information introduced to her confused her, nothing ever making sense and it often aggravated her. Her mother took Ava to see a specialist after failing the third grade and found out that she had a learning disability. Ava had been identified with having ADHD and after that, Ava no longer had any problems with school. Her mother taught her techniques and notified every teacher she had about her diagnosis so that they could help tailor lessons for her. That's why Ava's favorite subject was science because of all the lab activities. She was learning while interacting with what she was learning.

"Oh." Fitz said, sounding slightly surprised. "It's just that Jemma mentioned you had top marks and you look older, I assumed you were in uni. My apologies."

"It's alright."

They fell into an awkward silence and Fitz went back to his work. Ava watched on for minutes until Skye dropped by and called for the speedster. They went to the loft area which was now deserted.

"I know you want answers." Skye started. "Things are really complicated and it's a long story."

"Okay." Ava nodded, ready to hear it all.

"So you and I are Inhumans. And I know, that name doesn't sound the most pleasing. But it's something that everyone else called us a long time ago and we reclaimed the name. We made it ours. Inhumans are a long line of alien descent."

"Wait, what?" Ava laughed humorlessly. This sounded too ridiculous.

"Your best friend swings from the same skyscrapers that were the battleground during the Battle of New York where aliens came in from a portal. Nothing is impossible anymore."

"Yeah, I-I guess, but. Okay." Ava struggled to get out, just opting to hear everything that Skye had to say.

"These aliens were called the Kree. Big, blue aliens. They came to Earth and experimented on humans, splicing their DNA and putting it in ours. They wanted a race of slaves to do their battles for them. The Inhumans didn't like that and they rebelled. After rebelling, the Kree deemed them too dangerous and abandoned their project. We live our lives as normal, we are as human as anyone else. Until we go through Terrigenesis. That's the process you went through. Terrigenesis unlocks the Inhuman gene in whoever has it and we manifest our abilities.

"There was a group of Inhumans hidden in the mountains, a place called Afterlife. It was ran by elders including my mother, who you found in the old SHIELD files as Jiaying. They protected the Inhumans. But they had bad intentions too. Jiaying was behind all of it. We just recently took down their operation. Unfortunately, you were in the middle of that. Jiaying had a small following of Inhumans who wanted to carry out her plans. Two of them escaped our grasp and they set off a mist in Queens. It luckily didn't have a large radius, and you are the only known person to be affected by it. And not-so-luckily, during the fight with Jiaying's followers, I was able to keep the rest of the crystals away from Jiaying…by sending them into the ocean. Over the past few months, we've seen a worldwide influx of Inhumans popping up because of what I did. But we've been working on it, helping people learn how to live with the change."

"…This is a lot to process." Ava got out, not knowing what else to say.

She belonged to an ancient alien species that were meant to be warriors. Ava was not a warrior. She was a highschool dropout.

"So." Ava started, unsure what exactly she was going to ask. "Skye, what do I do now?"

"Well, I now have something to ask of you that you might not like. After what happened in Sokovia, the UN is drafting up an accord, and in it includes a list of all mutants and Inhumans, and anyone in between who possess powers. Spider-Man is already in the list, he got put on it the other day. But now we need you in it. I know it sounds like we're trying to control you, but it's more of an index to know who you are and to keep you safe."

"And others around me." Skye was right, Ava didn't like this.

"The government wants the Avengers to be put in check, and we're dealing with the after effects of that. But the Index is only available to us and the government. None of us are allowed to use it for malintent, it's only used to protect. I promise. We can give you the same deal that we gave Peter."

"Which is what?"

"We only put down an alias and your place of operation. So for Peter, his real name isn't registered, it's Spider-Man. We argued that since he's a prominent public figure with family and friends that could be endangered, his real identity cannot be compromised."

At this, Ava pondered further. If anything were to happen, they could only know a fake name and her face. Nothing about Grant or people like Lip. "Deal."

"Good. Oh, and Ava?" Skye got up, smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Call me Daisy from now on. And I think I have the perfect alias for you. How does Mercury sound?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ava spent a month training with Agent May and a few times with Morse also. Ava had heard rumors in the base about the two of them. And Daisy also. They were all badasses. May is referred to as the Calvary in hushed conversations, something dark being carried with the moniker. Morse was proudly called the Mockingbird, one of the best agents in SHIELD. All that Ava has heard about Daisy is her Inhuman upbringing, and the fact that she was inducted into SHIELD through unorthodox means. But all of these three women were considered powerful agents. Up there with the Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Tonight was going to be her first lesson with Daisy, who was going to start incorporating using her abilities along with the training she's been learning from May. They told her that she was learning fast, that she was a near natural. This brought along a lot of pride, especially now that this was all that Ava had going for her.

For the time being though, she was going to spend time with her best friend, Peter. Ever since they had been under different forms of tutelage, they had rarely seen each other. Ava wouldn't get back to the underground station until the late hours of the night, and by the time Peter would stop by, Ava would already be making her way over to the base. But today, they had granted her a small reprieve and she was going to use the most of it. In the morning, Ava had walked Grant to school. He told her all about his new classes and how he's already made a friend. Mrs. Day lets them hang out at each other's houses, he told her.

After that, Peter had told Ava to meet him at Avengers Tower. She was nervous to go back into that building. She was over the initial shock of running into Avengers, but it was still daunting. The building itself stood high in the sky, constantly watching over the city. The people inside were just that, people, but they were imbued with a purpose that weighs heavily on the shoulders and soul.

Ava walked briskly past reception, the same lady she had encountered before allowed her access with a simple nod and "Welcome back!" Ava had to remember to bring her some coffee next time. Would there be a next time? Would this become a reoccurring thing?

As the elevator sped up to the training floor, she wondered what Peter would think about Fitz's shoes. She was wearing the new shoes that Fitz had made for her. This would be the first time that Peter would see it. She wasn't sure if he would be impressed or hurt that she started wearing this instead of her friend's shoes.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal a small room. There were chairs and a coffee table and along one side, a hallway that led to the showers and bathrooms. The walls facing towards the elevators and towards the training room were made of an aluminum see-through glass, one of the strongest glasses in the world. It was rumored that Tony Stark was a part of the collaboration that created this glass and that he was continuing research in making a stronger one while also remaining transparent.

Ava saw Peter fly across the room. Or rather, Spider-Man fly across the room. He landed roughly on the floor and staggered when he got up. He shook his body and then sprung right back into the fight against the bots. They resembled training dummies used for cars and they unnerved Ava, but she watched on as her friend dodged attacks which were actually just infrared lasers. It was almost like a game of laser tag, only slightly more intense. Slightly.

"Ava!" Peter shouted out, waving wildly at the girl before jumping off the head of a dummy and doing a somersault in the air while shooting a web for him to swing off from, heading to the other side of the room and out of view.

Ava sat down on a chair and watched on until Peter managed to defeat all of the dummies. How much did it cost Stark to constantly replace them? They were totaled beyond repair.

Peter swung to the exit of the training room. The doors slid open as Peter took off his mask, face sweaty and lips wide. "Ava!" He ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Missed you too, Parker." She laughed, holding him tightly.

"Cute reunion. Listen kid, you did a lot better today, but now you gotta work on your time. Take them out more efficiently, not running your mouth off." Stark's voice came from the intercom, effectively scaring Ava.

"It helps me concentrate. Focus on the targets." Peter argued, winking at Ava. He still hasn't changed.

"No, it's just you thinking you're cute."

"Aren't I?"

"Hit the showers and bring along your girlfriend to the loft."

Peter laughed and looked over to Ava. He was still winded, but didn't look worse for wear in the least. And if anything, Ava noticed that some more muscles had formed. Peter had always been a gangly kid, and after his transformation, he did look more lean. But now his muscles were actually defined. And the same could go for Ava. From her training, she actually had more of an athletic build. She could flex and muscles would be noticable.

"I'll be back." He said, running towards the bathroom. She could hear the shower run and sat back down. Ava began fiddling with her new SHIELD phone. It was a pretty technologically advanced phone, but it wasn't like any other smartphone. This thing could be used on missions to disable security, for example. And to also play games with other team members. Fitz had programmed the phones with multiplayer games. She was currently in a game of pool with Fitz and was being beat by a mile.

" _Cheater."_ Ava texted to Fitz.

" _No, geometry."_ He responded back quickly.

She pocketed the phone as Peter walked out, looking fresh and clean. He wore Stark Ind. issued joggers and an old t-shirt that has seen better days.

"It's been too long." Ava said, reaching up to ruffle Peter's damp hair. The ends curled up and slightly frizzed. He moved away from her grasp and lightly shoved her.

"Not long enough." He joked.

They got into the elevator together and went up one more floor to the comforts of the loft that Ava had been in the last time she visited.

"So why meet here? To show off?" Ava asked as the doors opened to reveal none other than Tony Stark accompanied by who was obviously the Vision who, floating an inch from the ground, and Steve Rogers.

"A little bit. And I know you like it too. Wait, what are those?" Peter stopped in his tracks. He finally noticed the shoes.

"Fitz made me new shoes?" She said, preparing for the guilt tripping.

"Woah!" He bent down and snatched Ava's foot up to examine the shoes. "I'm trying not to get jealous at the fact you have another genius friend, but this is really impressive. The material is so much lighter, what's it made of?"

"No clue."

"Hey kids!" Tony greeted, clapping his hands together. "Ava, just so you know, you are welcome to use the training center yourself. State of the art."

"Also very creepy. But thank you." Ava said, smiling. Peter was right, she did secretly like being here. It was so out of her league, this whole world. She almost felt like she was at an amusement park trying out all the new and daring rides, that this wasn't really her life.

"Ava, you've met Rogers, but you have yet to meet Vision. Vision, Ava. Ava, Vision." Tony introduced the two.

Vision stepped forward, the yellow stone that resembled a bindi glaring at Ava. His whole body was almost like metal, but very _alien_. Ava couldn't control his body if she wanted, but she could still sense his presence with her powers. She wasn't sure how to explain it or even the man-droid before her.

"Hello." He smiled, fluidly reaching his hand out. Ava shook it with a tilt of her head.

"You sound very familiar." She commented.

"Vision was borne from JARVIS. I'm currently working on a different AI system that I've used for the suit, but still have to do some recalibrating and reconfigurements to have her fully operating in the Tower." Tony explained as Vision still kept his attention on Ava, his expression not changing. She felt slightly unnerved, but tried not to show it. Something told her that Vision was trying his best to try to adopt human behavior given the way he would talk with inflection and his movements.

"Nice to see you again." Steve waved from the couch, drawing his attention away from a baseball game that was playing. Ava smiled back in return.

"Well, I have work to do downstairs with Vision, but you guys can stay here. Just. Don't break anything. Please." Tony excused himself, Vision following after him. His creator. Did Vision ever call Tony dad?

"What game is this?" Peter questioned, hopping over the couch to land next to Captain America.

"Yankees and the Astros."

They fell into a conversation that Ava could not keep up with, but she watched over them. She couldn't help but smile as Peter laughed and Steve looked at him almost as if proud. The Avengers had taken a quick liking to Peter and that warmed Ava's spirits. Peter was going to move up in the world someday, she knew it.

"What are you doing creeping over there? Come join us!" Peter said, breaking Ava away from her train of thoughts. She rolled her eyes, but joined them. Ava sat next to Peter and tucked her legs underneath her body, getting comfortable.

"How's school?" Ava asked after a beat of silence.

"Lip is doing okay." Peter answered, knowing what Ava truly meant.

Ava nodded, looking away and instead staring ahead at the TV screen. The smack of the ball striking the bat sounded through the screen along with the cheers of those in the stadium. She could feel the stares coming from Steve, probably curious as to who Lip is, and from Peter too, knowing that she was curious as to where she stood with Lip now. Ava wasn't completely sure. She missed him greatly, but she still maintained her distance. She once made the mistake of introducing him to her world and it ended badly.

"How's training?" Peter asked.

"Good. We're going to start training with everything in my arsenal tonight." Ava responded. Coulson had reminded Ava to still keep silent about SHIELD and to never mention Coulson in the company of the Avengers. When Ava asked why, he had told her, "It's a long story."

"Everything in your arsenal?" Steve spoke up, confused.

"She means using her powers." Peter explained.

"You do have pretty neat abilities." Steve complimented.

"Thank you." She said.

They all fell into a silence and continued watching the game. After a long stretch of time, Ava had settled against Peter and he welcomed it. She missed his best friend. The one man she could confide in about everything. They had been through too much together to lose touch with each other.

"Have you talked to MJ and Harry again?" Ava whispered, trying not to disturb the game. It was playing loudly and even if Steve had heard Ava speak up, he didn't show it.

"Sort of." Peter sighed, getting out of the position they were in to make eye contact. "We're all on speaking terms, but it's not the same. Especially not without you. They asked about you all the time. It was hard to lie to them."

"What did you tell them?"

"I made up this story that shit went down with Marcus and you sent Grant to a neighbor's house and you ran off. I went out looking for you and two days later, I came back home and you didn't. I just told them that something bad had happened, and that it changed you. I didn't want to give too much detail and have them poke holes, so I acted as if I didn't know much either. As far as they know, they think you skipped town."

This hurt Ava. She once thought that maybe they could all be friends again, certainly not what they once were, but back together nonetheless. And then Ava dug too deep and SHIELD found her. She doesn't blame them, they were doing their job. But it all blew up in her face, irrevocably blew up in her face. If she was being honest with herself, this would've happened eventually. Peter was right that night when he said she couldn't just ignore her powers. She couldn't lead a double life forever. And she didn't want to say this to Peter, who still had a good handle on leading a double life, but eventually he will be faced with the same problem. Either more people will know Peter is Spider-Man, or he will have to choose between which life to leave behind and which to continue leading.

They left their conversation at that until the prerecorded game had ended and then Steve excused himself and left the room. Once the elevator doors closed shut and it was only Peter and Ava, she broke down into tears. Peter immediately held onto her, trying to soothe her.

"Avery?" Peter said, trying to make sense of the sudden break down. It was hard to lose everyone you love, but Peter thought that Ava had copped with that already in the passing month.

"It just hits me in waves sometimes. There are days where I feel perfectly okay, like I'm finally adjusting. But then there are days where I'm wondering why the hell this is happening to me."

"Everything is happening for the _better_ , Ava. You and Grant are away from Marcus. Grant is safe and happy. And you are now facing the need to accept the realities of your abilities. I know, it's hard to fit into this world, especially after…Sokovia. People are scared–"

"Of me!" She interrupted, fighting back any more tears trying to get out. "People are scared of me."

"And me too, Ava! Don't act like you're alone in this, that I don't understand because I do. Have you not seen the news? Every superhero out there is getting shit on right now. Even the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is laying low, no one has heard reports of him in months. The Avengers are still trying to deal with the fallout of the fight. And they can all sense the government cornering them. When I go patrol tonight, I will undoubtedly get food or rocks hurled at me by people are just _angry_ and _afraid_ of me. But it doesn't stop me from doing my duty, which is protecting the people."

"I-I don't know what my duty is. I have these abilities that agencies are hunting me down for having, and I don't know what to do with them."

"You use them."

Three simple words. Should it be that simple?

–

Training with Daisy had been intense. She didn't go easy on Ava, but she was a lot better than training with May. Daisy forced Ava to think outside the box. Daisy taught Ava that her powers where just merely an extension of her limbs, able to reach farther than ever previously thought. Ava had to think on the spot, how to counteract Daisy's attacks while not exhausting herself.

"You did good tonight." Daisy breathed heavily, a big smile on her face. Daisy had been put down after used her speed to generate a vibration that sent Daisy's quake pulses back at her.

"I didn't think _half_ the things I did tonight were possible!" Ava exclaimed breathlessly, smiling.

Before Daisy could respond, alarms start blaring. They exchange a glance and run out the door into the hallway which was filling other agents, confused at what was happened.

Daisy saw Mack and questioned what was going on.

"I'm just as lost as you are." He said over the sirens.

Daisy looked to Ava and nodded her head forward. "Do a sweep, be back in a _second_." Ava knew she meant this literally.

Ava exhaled and then ran. Everything slowed down and she could slowly see tiny ripples of agent's clothing as she moved past them. The sound of siren got lower and slower, sounding almost eerie. Ava glanced into room to room, but still found nothing. She turned another corner and thought to check the Director's office, and Ava found him and May running down the stairs with May firmly holding an icer. Ava ran to another hallway and checked all of the rooms in there. She came to the restricted room that everyone had told her not to enter and whenever she would ask why, she was always met with the response, "It's complicated to explain."

She opened the door to find Fitz kneeling before a giant stone that had square shaped craters along two sides in a line. The stone itself was inside a clear plastic cage. Ava stopped at her heels and everything went back to regular time for her. Fitz was screaming and pounding against the rock.

She walked up to Fitz and placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to grab his attention, but he shoved her away.

"Fitz, what happened?" Ava shouted.

"She's gone!" He wailed, losing all sanity.

Ava tried one last time to pull him away from the strange rock, but he refused. She examined the rock instead. It looked to made out of volcanic rock and brought a bad feeling to Ava's gut.

Ava sped back to Coulson who was in the hallway about to reach for the door and surprised him, May bringing her gun up to Ava before bringing it down after realizing she wasn't a threat.

"It's Fitz." She said, leading them to the door. "He said something about someone being gone."

The look in their eyes turned to fear and they ran past Ava, pushing open the door and immediately rushing to pull back Fitz.

"Ava, close the door and latch it!" May ordered.

Ava did so using her speed, closing up the rock for good and closing it in place.

"Go turn off the alarm." May added, looking down at the blubbering Fitz. Her fists were clenched tight.

"What's going on?" Ava asked, becoming increasingly terrified.

"That's what we're going to figure out. Just go." Coulson said. Ava nodded and headed to the electrical room and shut down the alarm system. Fitz had given Ava a rundown on all of the basic systems a week ago. Fitz had actually begun teaching Ava a lot of things, including Simmons, the both trying to her under their wing. She wasn't enough of a brain child to keep up, but learned as much as could from them and it was always fun to see the two of them work together like a well-oiled machine.

Ava's blood ran cold. Simmons. She speed back to the room but it was locked out and two agents were guarding it.

"Where did Coulson and the others go?" She asked them.

"The lab." One agent answered.

"Hey, you were in there, wha-" The second agent was in the process of asking Ava what went down, but she was already gone.

She found Daisy joined with Coulson, May, and Fitz. Fitz had calmed down some.

"Fitz." Ava let out weakly. He was sat down on a chair with a thin blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His face looked painless. He was numb now.

Daisy was searching the security footage to find out what had happened since Fitz was refusing to open up. Whenever had happened to Jemma, it had happened hours ago.

Ever since Fitz gifted Ava with the block of vibranium, Ava keeps it on her in various ways. This time, it was worn like an arm band, wrapping around like vines. She took control of the metal and let it all trickle down her arm to her hand where a solid ball formed. Ava concentrated and turned it into a little monkey balancing on a bike. She pulled up a lone chair and pulled it next to Fitz. May and Coulson silently watched on as Ava tentatively placed the figurine on the table in front of Fitz. He looked up and despite showing no emotion, he picked it up and held it in his hands. Ava knew that Fitz had a not-so-secret love for monkeys.

"Found her." Daisy announced, breaking the silence. "Oh god." She gasped, backing away from the computer screen.

Everyone else also watched on as Fitz left the room and moments later, the stone turned to liquid and swallowed Jemma Simmons whole.

–

A week had passed since Jemma's disappearance and no new evidence has surfaced. Fitz has turned into a completely different person, obsessed with trying to get Jemma back. But Ava doesn't think Jemma is ever coming back. They team only ruled out yesterday that Jemma wasn't trapped inside the Monolith. That's what they called it. Jemma was just doing a routine check on it. No one has said anything, but it showed in the footage that Fitz accidentally unlatched it. He knows it too, but doesn't want to admit it. He just keeps trying to find answers, each one getting crazier than the last.

Today was also graduation. Ava didn't go, although she desperately wanted to. Instead, Ava has spent all day at SHIELD. She still trains with Daisy, and sometimes she checks in on Fitz. Everyone does and it gets him irritated. When she's not training or checking on Fitz, she's sleeping. Ava sleeps a lot. It's also been a week since Ava has been at the station, but she still regularly checks in with Peter through text.

Tonight, Ava goes back "home." Peter said he was going to be there and she needed her friend at the moment. Losing Jemma seemed surreal. It still didn't seem like it actually happened. Although they hadn't known each other long, the two had gotten close regardless. Formed a bond.

Ava entered the train tracks and sped into an empty station. It was already almost eleven and Peter wasn't here yet. Ava kept herself busy instead by flicking on the TV and watched boring game shows. An hour later, still nothing. Another hour. Ava texts him and no response. One more hour and Ava throws in the towel.

"Waste of time." She muttered. She turned off the TV and all the lights. As she was exiting and heading back to SHIELD headquarters, Ava was hoping Peter would be right outside, heading his way to greet Ava. Guess he got caught up at some party. Whatever.

Ava got back to SHIELD and greeted the guard, Alec. At this point, Ava had her own clearance card. It seemed to be the lowest level around these parts, but it granted her access to most areas in the base.

Everyone was already in bed, except for Fitz. She could hear music playing in the lab and him clacking away furiously at the computer. Ava walked past and towards the recreational area. Ava turned on the kitchen light and began using her lame cooking skills. Ava put together a sandwich and grabbed a bag of chips along with a Mr. Pibb.

She headed to the lab without knocking, just setting down the food in front of Fitz on top of a lot of spreadsheets and research.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, sounding stressed out and furious. Ava responded by using her speed to remove the paper and set them in a neat stack on a different table.

"You need to eat. You can always go back to your research later." Ava said, popping open the soda and taking a sip from it. Fitz displayed a disgusted face at Ava drinking from his soda, and she wanted to snicker, but refrained from doing so in order to stay serious.

"I'll eat later." He rolled his eyes, about to go get the papers that Ava set aside, but she gently pushed him back on the chair.

"Just at least eat half, God." Ava said, making her way to leave.

"How was the celebration with Spider-Man?" Fitz asked.

Ava paused at the door frame. "I guess he went and celebrated without me."

"I'll eat half the sandwich if you eat the other half." He said. Fitz grabbed one half and went back to the work he was doing on the computer. Ava walked back and sat down next to the poor man. She took the other half and they silently ate together. Whenever Ava would try to take a sip from Fitz's soda, he would swat at her hand, she would use her speed to snatch from him and he would groan. Ava ate the chips when Fitz didn't want them. As he kept working, Ava grabbed one of the improved bars that was chocolate flavored from a cupboard in the lab. It was a secret stash that Jemma made for Ava. It made her heart twang at the pain. Jemma and Fitz made her these bars.

Ava hung around the lab for a little while longer until she was too tired to stay awake. Fitz didn't look like he was going to bed anytime soon.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Ava yawned, ruffling Fitz's hair.

"Hey, stop it." He swatted at her hand.

"Hey Fitz?" Ava said, waiting for him to tear his eyes away from the screen before she spoke up again. He looked at her with these immensely tired eyes. But Ava knew he wouldn't dare take a break until his body physically couldn't stay awake anymore. "You're going to find her."


	15. Chapter 15

Ava continued training with Daisy, Fitz continued searching for Simmons, and Peter continued not talking to Ava. This broke Ava's heart and oftentimes left her feeling empty, but she used her training sessions to deal with the emotions. Ava's improvement increased and as the days passed, she felt more and more a part of SHIELD. Although this is not where she expected to be, she didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Ava, you kind of just blend in here." Daisy smiled, impressed after another session. Ava blushed at this and remained silent. "We're all really proud of your progress and you have all the means of being an official SHIELD agent. If you would want to."

"Yes." Ava said so without thinking. What was there to think about? As much as Ava loved Grant, he was now living his own life and being the child he was always meant to be. Ava will never stop seeing Grant, but they live separate lives now and has come to terms with this. Ava didn't have any other ties anymore.

Daisy smiled even bigger, lighting up with joy. "Great! That's so great. It's also good to just have another InHuman around here. Someone who understands." Although they never explicitly discussed anything, there was a shared sense of knowing what it truly meant to go through Terrigenesis. "And I also want you to be the first member in my team."

"You're putting together a team?" Ava questioned.

"Yeah, like a line of defense against any and all threats. An InHuman team. You're not the first to wake up in a cocoon. I've spent the past few months trying to track as many as we can to save them, but there's this other organization that's getting to the InHumans before we can. I want you to help me."

Ava was at a loss for words. This was Ava's life now. Maybe this was her purpose. She accepted her powers, but now she had to do something with them. What was the other alternative? Find an over expensive studio apartment, go back to working crappy jobs, reconnecting with her old life, but always having to hide who she was? Who she truly is. Ava knew she couldn't live like that. She couldn't constantly hide this side of her, especially after spending all this time learning how to get a grapple on them.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll join." The two women looked at each other, beaming. This wasn't the life Ava envisioned for herself, but it was something to keep her going. To keep her feeling like not everything was all lost.

In that moment, Ava wished she had Peter to talk to. But he was still AWOL. So instead, Ava celebrated with her new SHIELD team. Bobbi somehow managed to pull out cupcakes and beer from thin air. They all teased her about not being able to drink and Mack gave her apple juice. They all had a great time and Ava had the chance to meet Bobbi's ex-husband, Lance Hunter. The mercenary was certainly a character, but he seemed to care deeply about the group. Fitz was still locked up in the lab, but Ava did hear a distant "Congratulations."

Night quickly came and Bobbi and Lance went on a mission led by Daisy and Mack. Coulson and May oversaw the whole mission in his office and Ava stayed holed up in her new room. This is her new home. Her new place of belonging. Considering Peter couldn't even give her the time of day, this was all she got.

All of a sudden, a frenzied Fitz burst through the door, panting from running down the numerous halls to reach Ava's room. "You have to see the news." He got out. Ava thought it would have something to do with Simmons, there is little else that could get him worked up like this.

Ava turned on the small TV that was installed in her room and turned to the news channel. She learned that the one exception to Fitz losing his shit was the fact that there was the live footage before her of Spider-Man free-falling as a winged creature soared above near the tops of the skyscrapers.

"Oh shit." Ava whispered. Not giving Fitz a chance to speak, he was pushed against the wall from the force of Ava speeding away. Ava turned on her comms, and it took too long in her sped up world but once she was back in the city, the feed was on and live.

Ava contacted Fitz and he immediately responded. "Where is he?"

"Times Square area. This bird-man keeps flinging him about."

Ava made her way over and saw the scene before her. There was two helicopters with their spotlights trained on the fight, one a tactical and the other the news. The large crowd in front of her were too busy to notice her entrance, all of their eyes trained on the fight. Why didn't they leave? Run for cover? Did they not realize how dangerous it was to be out here?

"Fitz, in theory, I should be fast enough to run up walls right?"

"I mean, you have achieved the speed to do so."

"I won't fall off?"

"As long as you keep your momentum, no you won't."

Ava jogged around the crowd and slipped past the barricades that the police had set up. As Ava moved to an alley, she heard crashing above and the crowd gasping. Looking up, the bird-man had flung Peter against the side of the building and was grabbing him again with his metallic talons. She only gave herself a moment to steel herself.

Suddenly, Ava was doing it. She was racing up a _building_. And not falling off! She contained her excitement at the new discovery and powered on. As the villian was tossing Peter towards the building one more time, Ava inched closer and closer as he nearly made contact with the glass. Ava was going to have to prepare herself for the impact somehow. And something told Ava that Peter ran out of webshooter fluid considering he's too clever to not at least try to dodge the attacks.

As she got close enough to grab him, she held onto his torso and neck. She jumped off the building and straight towards the bird man. Ava had the biggest advantage. Time went back to normal and Ava had control of his wings. She used them to glide down far away.

"Fitz, I need an extraction and detainment!" Ava shouted over the roar of the winds.

"Got it." He said calmly. He gave Ava instructions on where to land. The man whose wings she held hostage was throwing a fit. While Peter could barely speak.

"Who the hell are you? I will _kill_ you little girl!" He raged on.

"What are you doing?!" Peter exclaimed wildly, fear evident in his voice.

"Oh, you know who she is? I'll keep that in mind. I'll rip her to shreds in front of you!" He laughed.

"Don't forget who has control of your wings, Bird-Man!" Ava warned as she got away from the scene and towards the extraction sight.

" _How_ did you override my system?" He asked.

Ava ignored this, but the man kept talking and ranting until Ava used his metal mask and tightened it enough to clamp his jaw shut.

"That's better." Peter shouted.

"You shut up!" Ava shouted back. She would have her own talk with him after this was over.

As she neared the alley, Ava saw the beautifully ugly white containment room.

"Approaching now." Ava said into the comms.

Once she landed, she unceremoniously dropped Peter who rolled across the floor and pushed back the vulture of a man. Using her abilities, she used the wings to wrap around his body and bent them in angles that rendered the equipment useless. She then lifted him up and tossed him inside of the containment room. She was nice enough to put him on top of the bed.

"Come on." Ava said to Peter, who finally staggered back up. She felt a sting at how damaged her friend was, but this was still the man who had left her hanging.

They got inside the door in the entrance room and Ava locked the door to the containment room itself. As soon as that happened, the box shuttled upwards.

"Woah." Peter let out, pushed back against the bench from the force of the containment box moving upward.

"You have so much explaining to do, Peter." Ava said, clenching her fists and still standing up without even losing her balance. She had become so much stronger these last few months.

"So, you're a superhero now?" He questioned, trying to joke his way out of the tension.

"I _saved_ your ass. You're welcome." She scoffed.

Once they latched onto a Quinjet and were safely inside, the outer door opened and Ava stalked out. There was May and Fitz standing before her, guarded.

"Who's the supervillain?" Fitz asked, tablet in hand. Ava took out her comm and addressed the two.

"The Vulture. Spider-Man's new best friend."

"Has a nice ring to it. I'll handle it." May nodded.

"Thank you guys." Ava said, glancing back to see that Peter still hadn't emerged. "I know this was not standard protocol at all–"

"We don't really follow protocol all that much anymore." Fitz shrugged, walking away into the cockpit of the plane, May walking away with him also. Ava sighed, looking down to her shoes. They were sleek and black and SHIELD issued. How did everything move so fast?

She looked back to the containment box. Peter had been standing up now, overlooking the glass and seeing Vulture stuck on the floor from the rocky trip.

"I know I have a lot of explaining to do." Peter said, still watching Vulture struggle as Ava joined him.

"This seems to be a pattern I have been hearing from men in my life." She countered. "Come on." Peter followed her out and they sat down on the seats lined up against the sides of the plane.

"Meeting the parents of a girl you like is terrifying. And leads to having near-death experiences." Peter started.

"Oh really?" Ava feigned interest.

"Really! Anyways, I know that I should have at least sent out a message to let you know I was okay. The only person that I've reached out to in the past week is Aunt May. I was hell-bent on catching the Vulture. And recently, it's been hard to reach Iron Man."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The Avengers aren't always free, they have their own heroism to go out there and do. He tried to rob a bank and there were hostages on graduation day. I almost missed my graduation. But I made it right on time. But yeah, so I had to go after him on my own."

"Didn't work out so well, did it?"

"Thank you, by the way. Also, does this mean you're with SHIELD now? I mean what's happening with _you_?"

"I found a home." She said with finality. He had a deeply hurt look in his eyes and this made Ava feel doubt creep in, but she pushed it away. "I found a purpose. You told me not to ignore reality."

"I really am sorry, Avery." Peter said.

"I know."

–

They landed back on base and May disappeared within the many twists and turns of the base and Fitz went back to his lab to continue doing research on getting Jemma back. The Vulture remained trapped and locked up, going to be dealt with in the morning and handed off to some big-shot military top dog.

Ava and Peter headed over to the loft area of the base. They maintained a good distance, but the whole area seems charged. Whatever remaining agents were enjoying their breaks, stepped out of the room upon their entrance.

"What else do you want me to say Ava?" Peter asked, exasperated. He was getting more upset by the passing second, but how he was feeling was nothing compared to Ava.

"You're not my puppet, I can't make you say anything. Just go to the lab to get checked out Peter and then you can go."

"I'll be fine." He waved off. "Will _we_ be fine?"

This question cut through the air. It disrupted the whole balance of the world. Ava now felt off-kilter. She didn't have an answer to that. She just stood there, fists clenched, and looked down at the stained concrete ground. She couldn't look into his brown eyes, look into the anger and the hurt because it wasn't fair to her. _She_ was angry and hurt. He ditched her, excuses aside. They didn't mean anything. He had the time to contact Ava, to leave some sort of message. But he didn't. Peter made that choice. No, not a choice. There was a lack of choices, because to make a choice in contacting her would have meant that he remembered her existence.

"Wow. Okay." He spoke up after the moment's pause. Ava could hear his footsteps as he walked towards the hallway. "You know, I've had to lose a lot, Ava. So have you. I just never thought we'd lose each other. After everything."

This made Ava erupt.

"I never thought I would be an afterthought! I never thought my best friend would forget me! I don't want hear any more of your bullshit excuses, Parker, admit it! You forgot me. You were busy with this girl and her psychotic father!"

"I didn't–"

" _You forgot me!_ "

"Okay! I'm sorry. And she wasn't just some girl."

"Neither am I."

Ava walked away, heading towards the training room. She heard behind her the doors latch shut as Peter walked away. An agent passed by, trying to act as if she hadn't heard the whole thing and avoiding eye contact with the speedster.

"Can you make sure he doesn't walk into town with only a shredded Spider-Man suit?" Ava asked. The agent merely nodded and followed after where Peter left through. Ava had no authority here, not even as an Inhuman, but the agent felt pity for the girl.

Ava continued on to the training room. The moment she stepped inside, she felt a great relief and took control of her metal armband. It transformed into a foot-long spear and she sent it straight through the punching bag, sand spilling out slowly, the spear landing on the opposite wall. She sped towards the punching bag with such ferocity that it broke off from the ceiling, small chunks of concrete raining down from the metal chain being broken off. Ava tripped over the bag, scraping her knees. She cradled the bag with her legs as she started to punch it until there was nothing left to punch. Exhausted, she fell back onto the cold floor and let it chill her body.

Peter was her one constant. Now that's gone. Ava had come to terms with her new life. She had come to terms with having to let go of Grant, MJ, Harry, and Lip. But she didn't expect the one person who was _in_ her world would fall out of it.

"All out of your system?"

Ava brushed away her brown curls and looked up to see Mack.

"Fuck off." She rolled her eyes, getting up from the ground. Mack kept his distance from Ava, knowing better than to startle an animal as he always liked to compare her to one even though this man towered over her.

"Ouch. I'll ignore that hateful tone. But what I won't ignore is an obviously heartbroken friend." Mack revealed two beers. "I'm sure you won't tattle on me for giving you one." He winked.

Ava accepted it, letting out a small laugh despite the slight annoyance she felt. Mack always made sense. She quickly caught on that Mack is the voice of reason in SHIELD. He played the devil's advocate in arguments, always making sure that decisions weren't made lightly, but also made definitely. She hated that because there was little wiggle room with this guy. He could make her see reason when she didn't want to.

"I'm not heartbroken. Just pissed off." Ava said, opening the bottle with ease and taking a sip. It tasted disgusting, but she remained cool on the outside in order to not show her lameness.

"That your little boyfriend cheated on you?" Mack queried.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Fine, work husband."

"What?" She looked over at him, confused.

"Like how we're all in the work family here. Here, we're ride or die. May and Coulson are our work parents and we're all the work children. You were Spider-Man's work wife. I've seen your file. You watched his back constantly. And he helped you after Terrigenesis."

"Of course there's a file on me that you peaked at."

"But you see my point?"

"Yeah, I do. I guess it makes sense."

"You dedicated a lot of your time and energy towards him and he did too. But this is your life now. And sometimes that means losing everything and everyone from your past. It's the type of people that tends to work for SHIELD."

"What you mean?"

"SHIELD is like a foster home. They take in the outsiders, the abandoned, the lost. They get shelter, food, training, a sense of purpose."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your story?"

Mack looked down at his beer and a deep chuckle resonated from him. "Now, that's a long and complicated story to tell. Not one you're going to hear."

"You know mine. It's only fair."

Mack stared at Ava. He had this intense pain in eyes that froze her in her spot. He looked away and spoke out, very quietly.

"I lost hope." He said simply. The words were heavily laced with sorrow, but he didn't elaborate and Ava decided to not push him any further.

"Hope is still here." She said after a few minutes of silence. "Hope is all around us. Something tells me it's the only thing that keeps SHIELD up and running."

Mack smiled and took another swig from his beer.

"Alright, Hulk. Come on." He chuckled, helping Ava up. "You really did a number in here. Don't forget your spear there." Ava let out a laugh as she willed the metal towards her and shifted it back into an armband. They left the training room side by side. She still felt an emptiness deep inside, but at least her spirits weren't crushed. SHIELD has given her hope.


	16. Chapter 16

Coulson had given Ava an assignment. Patrolling. It was boring, it was time-consuming, but it was also important. Daisy's team still consisted of only her and Ava. So this stupid assignment that Ava has? It's canvassing. It's keeping her ear close to the ground. There's been a rumored Inhuman in Cambria Heights. Ava had found the husk in an alley, SHIELD scientist Eliana Dawson determined that it was a little over a week old. Fresh. A new Inhuman wandering the streets in pain, scared, and confused. Whatever powers this person obtained, they haven't surfaced on the news yet, which is a good sign. Or bad. Ava wasn't sure yet.  
A week into this mission, and she already wanted to call it quits. But this was important, after all. It surely wasn't exciting, but it was something. She had been trying to integrate herself into the community, and it was difficult.  
"This is your first mission. This mission will teach you patience and how to put on a face. We need you to be able to go undercover in a moment's notice. Create a new name for yourself. A new life. But make it believable. We want to find this Inhuman before the public does. For the first time, we're ahead of the curve. Let's keep it that way." That's what Coulson had told her a week and one day ago when she had been first assigned by him personally.  
Being undercover wasn't that hard. SHIELD set her up in a condo that's typically used as a safehouse, nothing fancy–and the surrounding neighbors kept mostly to themselves, but that's probably why SHIELD chose to have a safehouse on this street. Ava ventured out a lot. She spent of the day walking around, getting herself acquainted with store owners and landlords, trying to fish any kind of information out of them. But nothing. Ava had even hacked into some of their security footage (Daisy has been teaching Ava some of the ropes) and still nothing out of the ordinary.  
But Ava had only gone to the quiet places. She figured that's where someone that went through a literal life-changing experience would want to stick with. Low-key places. Small corner stores, staying locked up in their home. But maybe she's been looking in all of the wrong places. They could be in denial. Keep going, keep moving.  
The club was pulsating with music and lights. The bass went hard and moved in sync with her rapid heartbeat. Ava pushed through the throng of people and headed towards the bar. She sat down, but didn't order anything. The music was loud and annoying, but bartenders were trained to be able to listen through it.  
"What can I get you?" The bartender walks up to Ava. The woman is tall and graceful. Ava was left flabbergasted, this woman's dark green eyes captivated here. "Hello?" The woman's voice brought Ava back to focus.

"Hi, yes. Just a coke. And a quick question." Ava smiled, trying to be charming. But this bartender is still way out of her league. And she knew that. She just exudes the kind of confidence that tells the world, "you can't tell me what to do.  
"No time for questions." She said, handing Ava the Coke.  
"What's your name?" Ava calls out as she walks away to some other customer. Before she has the chance to turn her head, Ava is already in the security room downloading footage and out.  
"Idra."  
Idra. It's certainly a unique name. And extremely fitting.  
Ava stuck around the club for a little while longer. It would be too suspicious if she suddenly left. She stayed at the bar for a few minutes, continuing to keep a watch on Idra. Her sleek black hair ended at her lower back. The bandana top revealed her back and arms, both pretty muscular. They were almost as defined as Ava's were, but Ava had the advantage of intensive SHIELD training. Not wanting to attract any more attention from Idra, Ava left the bar and stepped out into the dance floor. She swayed around, just trying to blend in with the crowd.  
When five songs had passed, Ava went back to the bar and ordered a second soda.  
"Not a big drinker?" Idra questioned, giving Ava an eye that told her she knew she wasn't 21.  
"No, I'm the designated driver." She lied anyways.  
"Where are your friends?"  
"My friend May is somewhere in here sticking her tongue down some random guys' throat." She replied, rolling her eyes.  
Idra's full lips pulled into a wide smile and she let out a small laugh. "I know that pain." She handed her the Coke. "What's your name?"  
"Mary Jenson. Thank you." Ava accepted the soda, set out the cash for the two sodas she ordered, and went out back to the crowd.  
She took large gulps and finished the drink. After five songs she left the club.  
Once she got back the condo, Ava and started sifting through the endless hours of footage.

Another week had passed and there was still no leads. Ava had officially declared this mission a complete bust. How was SHIELD supposed to find an Inhuman without knowing what exactly to look for in the person?  
She was heading to the corner store to get snacks. And a lot of them. Training certainly increased her appetite, and Ava still needed to eat a lot to keep herself healthy and from passing out when using her abilities. At the corner store, she noticed Idra in one of the isles. She had her hoodie up and head hung low. Ava maintained her distance, trying not to arouse Idra's attention. When Idra went to pay, Ava was on the opposite end and waited until she walked out. Ava then followed after her, maintaining a large distance. Is this stalking? It feels like stalking. But she can't shake this hunch that she has. Idra is the Inhuman. Or not, and Ava truly is a stalker and freak.  
Ten minutes later and Idra was walking up the steps to her home. Ava hid behind trash cans and watched as Idra stopped in her tracks and let out a low laugh. Then she looked around, and Ava stepped back to avoid getting caught. Right when Ava peeked her head back out was when Idra was in the process of phasing through her door.  
"Yes!" Ava let out loudly, fist pumping the air. She immediately sank down to the ground, cursing herself for the outburst. But it was just so great. And what were the odds?  
Ava sped all the way back to the safehouse and contacted Coulson.  
"Good work, Douglass. You will recruit her 0500 tomorrow with backup."  
"Wait, what? Me, recruit? How do I do that?"  
"Appeal to her. Warn her. Give a dramatic monologue. You have a lot of options." And with that, Coulson hung up. Ava let out a string of curse words. All lightly. But frustratingly. Ava didn't think this is what she would be doing with SHIELD. She thought she would be getting the exciting missions. But maybe that's something Ava shouldn't be hoping for.  
Ava quickly went to the corner store and actually food and snacks this time and back inside the condo, she devoured practically everything save for two sandwiches. "That hits the spot." She sighed contently. Ava went back to her laptop and reviewed the club footage again. Idra wasn't careless enough to pull any of those tricks at work, but she was essentially a newborn. She would have had to slip up at some point. Ava checked the dates for when she would have recently emerged from Terragenesis. Nothing out of the ordinary. Replay. Nothing. Replay. Nothing. Replay. Wait, what was that? It was ever-so-slightly done. Ava froze the image and zoomed in. A glass had phased through Idra's hand, but no one noticed, and it happened too quickly to be recognized. Ava continued the footage and Idra crouched down and cleaned up the broken shards on the floor. Then she left to the bathroom and didn't exit from there until half an hour later.  
"How did I not notice before? Idiot."  
Ava continued to review the footage over and over. This was surreal. It was one thing for Daisy to show her all the little dots of old attempts at trying recruit or save Inhumans from all over the world, but it was another to actually encounter another Inhuman. Daisy was the only other Inhuman she knew.  
She shut the laptop shut and laid on the bed, staring straight up towards the ceiling. Ava transformed the vibranium from her armband into a solid block and set it down on the nightstand. It was funny how almost a year later, Ava would embrace this side of her. What Ava recently discovered was the _only_ side of her. This was Ava's true self. She may work in the shadows, but she was the light within it.

May and Hunter were a block away with the containment box and ready to back up Ava if things went south. But Ava didn't feel that anxious if it came to that. She was self assured in her abilities and she was trained well.  
Everyone on the street was still sleeping soundly, but Ava guessed that had limited time before someone would awake, she had to do this fast. Somehow. She knocked and ringed on the door a million times. Idra would probably answer the door pissed off, but was all Ava need, the door to open.  
"What the fuck?!" She heard from inside. From the information that Bobbi had given the team, Idra Williams lived alone. She was raised by her uncle, Robert Hayes, but he passed away during the War on New York City. From the hospital records, he died from a heart attack during the Invasion. The sight of the world changing scared him to his death bed.  
Idra opened the door and a look of recognition crossed her face. "What the-" She was started yelling out, but Ava advanced and stepped inside.  
"I don't know what I'm doing but just shut up." Ava said, already panicking.  
"That was terrible, what was that?" Hunter said through the comms. She ignored him and continued talking to Idra.  
"I'm not gonna kill you. Just. Hell. Okay just look at this!" Ava let go of Idra and screamed out until she was stunned silent by Ava suddenly disappearing.  
"Over here." Ava said calmly, in the corner of the living room. Idra shouted out, bringing her hand up to her mouth. Ava then sped again, appearing right next to Ava.  
"What the hell!" Idra exclaimed, shaking.  
"I did this all wrong." Ava sighed. "I am so sorry. I don't know what I'm doing. But believe me when I say you can trust me. I'm just like you. I know what happened to you, and I can give you answers."  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Idra said, terrified.  
"You know what I'm talking about. Just like how I can run really fast, and also control metal," She smirked, controlling her armband and forming it into a sphere, "You can move through walls. And just about anything."  
Idra didn't speak. Ava took this as an opportunity to keep talking.  
"I work for an organization whose purpose is to protect people. And right now, people like us need protecting. Inhumans. And we need training. We need to adapt to this new change. The change that you went through is called Terragenesis. And I can tell you a whole lot more about Inhumans with a friend of mine back home, her name is Daisy."  
"You're not making any sense." Idra said quietly, still shaken.  
"I know. But you need to trust me. I showed you my secret. That's something I can't show just anyone. You know that. It's getting dangerous out there for people like us, I'm sure you've seen the news. But I can take you someplace where you'll be safe. And where you can be taught how to control your powers."  
"I know how to control them." Idra defended herself, gaining more of a voice back now.  
"Are you sure? I thought the same thing until I got the proper training. Instead of hiding them and then getting overwhelmed by holding it in for too long, we can teach you how to have a balance with your body."  
"Who's 'we'?"  
"SHIELD."  
"Ava, somehow we've been made. They're here." May said through the earpiece.  
The other organization that has been rounding up Inhumans. Daisy has been working hard trying to identify the group. And who they think is the leader. How did they find Idra?  
"Idra, does anyone else know about your abilities?" Ava asked, running to the windows and peering through. The street was still silent, but Ava knew it wouldn't be for long. "Idra, please."  
"My best friend." She responded. "Why?"  
"Because the bad guys are here. And these bad guys, they've been kidnapping people like us. And they disappear. Never heard from again. If you don't want to end up like them, you gotta come with me."  
Idra stood there disbelieving. "Seriously?"  
Then, there was a loud knock on the door. "Idra Williams?" A deep voice boomed. "Open up!" Idra looked over at Ava, fear painting her face again.  
"Believe me now?"  
Ava took hold of Idra's neck and torso instantaneously, running out through the back door and all the way to the containment. Once inside, May and Hunter entered inside and they shot up in the air. It was then that a rain of bullets struck from down below from the bad guys. But it was too late for them. They lost this round.  
"How did they know?" Hunter asked.  
"Her bestie reported her." Ava responded.  
"Oh god." Idra stumbled, face turning pale.

"This is a lot to sink in." Idra whispered, looking defeated.  
"I know. It's difficult. But you're not alone anymore. I can teach you how to control and hone in your abilities. And eventually, if you're willing, you can be a part of my team." Daisy responded, sitting across from her.  
Ava stood leaning against the doorframe, watching the pair from a distance. Daisy had a real talent in being a leader. Powers aside, Daisy had a real knack for taking control of a situation. For being fair. For being calculating. For being warm.  
Ava stepped away as Daisy continued to talk to Idra about S.H.I.E.L.D. She headed to a lab that was full of new interns, but no Fitz in sight.  
"Kelley, where's Fitz?" Ava asked one of the interns.  
"No clue." He said, shrugging his shoulders and then heading back to his work.  
Ava kept on walking down the halls, heading towards her room.  
There wasn't much decoration in here. There's a small TV that plays news channels and any important S.H.I.E.L.D. memos. A double sized bed, itchy quilted blanket laid on top that Jemma had made for Ava to help her feel more at home. An analogue clock. And a drawer full of momentos.  
She sat down on the bed and opened the drawer. There was her worn _Cosmos_ book, with a picture of the old gang used a bookmark. A pack of cigarettes that belonged to Lip, signed in sharpie with his terrible scrawl, "If you ever decide to cave in." It was his lame attempt at egging Ava on to smoke, but she only kept it as a memory of him. She pulled out the drawer and dumped everything onto the bed. Grant's old drawings he made of the family, the drawings always including mom, even after she died, everyone with smiley faces. More pictures of everyone. An old picture of when Grant was first born at the hospital, being held by mom and Ava and her dad on opposite sides of the bed. Countless pictures of Ava and MJ, Ava and Harry, Ava and Peter. They used to be at the hip.

Then there was the necklace. Ava forgot all about the necklace. It was gifted to her from Peter. Ava's birthday wasn't celebrated this year, too much had been happening at once. But last year, before everything all went to hell, Peter had gotten Ava a small moonstone necklace.

She put it on and then continued to look at the pictures over and over.

A soft knock at the door broke her away from memory lane. She hadn't even realized she was crying until her focus was broken. She quickly wiped away the tears and welcomed in the person.

It was Idra. "Agent Douglass? I just wanted to thank you."

"No thanks are needed." She smiled, collecting all her things and placing them back in the drawer.

"No, really. Agent Johnson told me about how you were just on a mission canvassing. It was practically luck that you found me. So thank you for finding me." She seemed to be glowing, almost. Idra had found her purpose.

"So does that mean you're staying?" Ava asked.

"No." Idra smiled sadly. "But Daisy is going to help me control my abilities before I leave. So that no accidents happen to me back home."

"That's good." Ava smiled sadly back. A part of her wished that Idra would have decided to stay.

"I'm actually going to go start my first training session with her." Idra said.

"Oh, good luck. You're gonna need it." Ava laughed, getting up from the bed.

Ava escorted Idra to the training room so that she wouldn't feel so alone. Despite seeming more relaxed after having final acceptance of her powers, she must still feel so out of place in this base. They parted ways and Idra started her training. Ava, on the other hand, needed some fresh air.

It was incredibly rare to be able to venture outside of the base, Coulson doesn't really allow it, but he sometimes makes a special exception. SHIELD has different safe places set up throughout the world, especially here in the east coast since the Triskelion was in D.C. Agents needed a place to hide out or a place in between missions. If shit ever hit the fan, Ava could always camp out in one of the hideouts.

There was actually a SHIELD base right at the heart of New York, a whole building. It was disguised as a call center, and it still operates as one, but the behind the scenes SHIELD-work got abandoned after Hydra resurfaced. Ava sped herself to that location. All of the windows were closed up and the room was in a perpetual darkness. Opening the blinds, light flooded back in to the dusty room. Beneath were the bustling people and honking cars. Above her the skyscrapers. Ava missed New York. Being out in the countryside just wasn't the same.

Ava ventured around the halls, peering into every room. Most of them were conference rooms or offices, nothing special. Coulson had told Ava this base was mostly used for assignments and planning, it wasn't meant for anything too important. It worked that way because if it ever got raided, no bad guys would have information that could jeopardize SHIELD.

Ava made her way to the staircase to avoid the elevator. She would still need to be discrete even in this building. As she continued down the continuous flights of stairs, she heard a creaking noise. Stopping in her tracks, she stood absolutely still and strained her ears to try to listen for more, but it was dead silent. She was starting to get a queasy feeling nonetheless. Ava turned her armband into a dagger and gripped it tightly. After a few beats, she heard the creak again, and this time she definitively heard it come from behind. She whipped around incredibly fast and raised the dagger, ready to strike down on whoever was behind her.

The man that had tried to sneak up on Ava dodged the dagger, but barely. Ava got in a cut on his side, but it didn't stop him from continuing to try to defend himself. Ava inched closer and punched him in the abdomen, then once more on the jaw, knocking him backwards.

"WOAH! HEY!" The man yelled out, raising a hand out. Ava stopped, but remained in a defensive stance.

"Are you a SHIELD agent?" Ava asked, hoping to God it wasn't. Coulson would have her ass.

"No, I'm a friend of–wait, isn't SHIELD gone?" The man questioned, nursing his jaw by moving it back and forward to gain some motion in it.

"That's not important, who are you?" She ignored his question, now knowing that Coulson would _for sure_ kill her for revealing SHIELD to a non-SHIELD member.

"I'm Sam. Sam Wilson. I'm a friend of Steve's." He said. "He wasn't kidding when he said you were no joke, Jesus." He winced trying to get back up on his feet. Ava did knick him good with the dagger.

She shifted the dagger back into an armband. "Steve? As in Rogers? Captain America?" She asked in disbelief.

"The one and only. We need your help."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

AU: I just saw TheVulcanNara's review on my first chapter before I started working on this chapter, and I wanted to thank you for the kindness! I try to avoid any hateful comments and I figure commenters such as that person is just a spammer that goes to multiple stories to try to spread their message. Your review really encouraged me though, and thank you and to everyone else who has taken the time out of their own day to read my story.

Also want to note that since we'll be going straight into Civil War, I'm not going to follow exact story-line just because it always feels a little awkward to me since this is the Russo brother's interpretation and I have my own, but it will essentially follow the same as the movie. And Ava won't have a complete rundown about events leading up to the fight until after because there isn't exactly time to catch her up while everything is going down.

And like I said in the beginning, events won't be the exact same, like Peter's and Ava's age. At this point, they're both 18, about to be 19 (but this age difference is mainly because I started Mercury before Civil War and Peter's age in the MCU was revealed).

–

"How can I trust you?" She asked. Sam Wilson could be anyone. He could be a Hydra agent. Which Ava certainly wasn't prepared for. The Koenigs had cleared every old base and hideout on the eastern coast.

"Yankees and Astros." Sam responded. Ava still seemed hesitant, but that piece of information would only be something that Steve Rogers knew. "Cap just told me to tell you Yankees and Astros. An old game was on when you visited once."

"I guess." Ava sighed, but still keeping her guard up.

"I guess?!" Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Well. Are you gonna come with me or not?"

"Go where?" Ava asked. How could Ava just leave? How would she tell Coulson she had someplace else to be other than SHIELD to help Daisy, casually tell Coulson that she had to take a little vacation?

"To meet with Cap. I'll let him do all the talking for you." He responded, his demeanour still remaining careful around Ava.

Ava stood there, trying to take in the situation. She seemed to be falling deeper and deeper into a world that she constantly has to try to find new footing on. Ava pulled out her phone and sent out a message to Daisy, saying that there was something she needed to do and that she would come back soon. Before Daisy would even have a chance to inquire, Ava tossed the phone and there was a loud break as it traveled down the remaining flights of stairs and broke.

"Okay." She nodded, standing more relaxed. Sam visibly relaxed too, but Ava could tell he still felt on edge. She did give him a good beating. "Sorry for attacking you."

"I probably could've approached you better."

"How _did_ you find me, by the way?"

It was certainly a puzzle. Ava had only been in the hideout for less than a half hour and she had never been to this particular one before.

"I got my ways." He grinned, walking down the stairs.

"Alright then." Ava said.

They traveled out to a back way from the building into an empty alleyway. There was a van parked around the corner.

"Well, that doesn't look suspicious." Ava deadpanned. Sam only responded with a smile and opened the back for her, revealing a group of people. Two of them were instantly familiar: Hawkeye, who was in the driver's seat and Scarlet Witch sitting in the back with another man, who seemed terrified and excited at the same time.

"Another one?" The unknown man asked.

"Yes, another one." Hawkeye sighed, seeming annoyed by the man.

Ava watched on, amused but set-back. What exactly was going on that Steve was essentially recruiting people? The man did not even look vaguely familiar, though. So who is he and how did he come to be running in the same circle as superheros?

"Who are you, exactly?" Ava interrupted their odd "lovers spat."

"Oh, I'm Scott." He greeted her with a handshake.

"Hello Scott." She responded.

"Alright, let's get going." Sam clapped, getting in the passenger side as Ava sat next to Scarlet Witch. Hawkeye started the car. He made the tires screech and smoke as they raced down the streets of Manhattan.

They had made it across state lines to New Jersey to a private airspace and rode in a private jet for hours. Ava didn't bother asking how in the hell they got a hold of a private jet, I assumed it couldn't be that difficult for people capable of defending the Earth.

Hawkeye and Sam manned the cockpit. Scott fell asleep within the first thirty minutes of the flight. Scarlet Witch stared off into the distance, looking haunted. Ava didn't mean to stare, but she couldn't help herself and the powered woman spoke up with her thick Sokovian accent.

"I killed people." She said, slicing away the silence. "We were on a mission and I sent an explosion into a building full of people. I caused all of this."

After a beat of silence, Ava responded, even if she wasn't meant to.

"You know, it's been a long time coming. Ever since mutants came into the spotlight, ever since a man with a big ego created a metal suit, ever since you were experimented on. And it all came to a head in Sokovia. Ultron was created with good intentions, but that didn't _matter._ Ultron raised a city and he caused casualties, and the public in turn decided that none of it would have happened if it wasn't for Tony Stark.

"I watched Sokovia on the news when it happened. I had spent a night learning how to control my abilities and came home and saw what had happened. And I knew then, that was it. That would be the meteor-sized camel that would break the world. The Avengers saved us, but doomed us all also. But not because it was Tony Stark's fault or yours. But because it's been a long time coming."

A tear fell down Scarlet Witch's face and Ava knew that anguish. The helplessness. This was Wanda in front of Ava, stripped away from all of the monikers and power. This was a woman who only knows loss.

Hours later, they land at an airport and get into another van. Hawkeye drove them to a large parking garage and parked nearly to the top, next to a beat up Bug.

Once Ava had gotten out of the van, the doors to the car opened to reveal none other Steve Rogers and some other man that kept his distance from everyone. Steve welcomed the girl with a smile and hug. This took Ava aback, and it took her a moment to reciprocate. Being in his arms felt nice, it made Ava feel safe, a rare feeling she gets to have these days. It was like being greeted by an old friend.

"You were extremely hard to find." Steve said. "I know this is sudden, but we need your help. Tony along with some other Avengers are trying to push the Sokovia Accords. I don't need to explain to you how bad this could be, right?"

No, he didn't. Ever since Ultron attacked, Ava knew. Ava knew that everyone would stop romanticizing the heroes and idolizing them. And that meant a witch hunt. Ava knew that this has been happening slowly. It already infiltrated SHIELD with the registry, but thanks to Daisy, she was able to give her a loophole.

There was no denying the benefits that could come with enacting the Sokovia Accords. It could protect the people more. But it could endanger the heroes and mutants and now InHumans, and all their family and friends.

"And it's not just that," Steve began.

"It never is." Sam scoffs. Ava could see the immense stress on his face.

"To put a long story short, there's also super-powered assassins that are waiting to be unleashed by a psychotic doctor and we have to put an end to them."

"What do you need me to do?" Ava asked, no hesitation.

"Fight." Wanda responded, standing tall. Ava looked to the woman and saw something new within her, and a sense of trust between the two.

Ava looked back at Steve and nodded, smiling.

He returned the smile.

"Wake up!" Ava heard Hawkeye say behind her. She turned to see that Scott had still been asleep in the van. Lang startled awake and jumped out of the van. He stumbled in front of Steve and became starstruck.

"Wow." He laughed, taking Steve's hand and shaking it like mad. "It's great to meet you."

"Just stop." Sam said with a dead face. Scott gave a nod and backed away.

"This is Bucky." Steve introduced. He was wearing a long sleeve, but Ava could sense that Bucky had a very interesting arm. She didn't even realize until right now. It was made completely of metal. Vibranium to be specific. She shied away from it so as not to have Bucky feel like a freak. He gave a curt nod in everyone's general direction and then suddenly a voice in a different language spoke through the airport intercoms. It sounded German. Ava didn't even think to ask what country she was in.

"They're evacuating and locking down the airport." Sam said after the message ended.

"Alright, everybody suit up." Steve said. Scott and Hawkeye headed for the van, the latter quickly grabbing his bow and arrow before the former went inside and closed the door to change. Sam walked to the Bug that Steve and Bucky had showed up in, and popped open the trunk. He pulled out what looked like a metal backpack and put the straps on him, clicking in place the chest and hip braces. Steve pulled out his suit quickly began changing into it, blushing slightly since Wanda and Ava were present. They simultaneously turned their backs, smirks on their faces. Scott opened the van door to reveal him in a red and black suit, holding a strange motorcycle helmet in hand that Ava didn't bother to question. She'll see the magic when the time comes.

Once Steve was dressed, he called everyone to attention and we huddled as he laid out his plan.

"Our main objective is to get to their quinjet, there's no doubt that they came in with it. It's fast and will get us to the base we need to go instead of the chopper Clint had lined up for us. It's different from the original plan, but taking the quinjet will give us an edge over them.

"Bucky, Sam, Ava, you three will be going through the terminals. Sam, you will search for the quinjet and once it's found, radio in and all three of you start heading towards it. Rest of us, we bring the fight to them and keep them occupied.

"Scott, you're going to be our element of surprise, stay on me and if any kind of throwdown happens, you're going to be the one to knock them back. Wanda and Clint, you're our defense. We try to meet up with them at the hangar once the quinjet is up and running."

"And if that falls to shit?" Ava asked. Sam smiled at Ava's brazen question.

"You're our plan B actually." Steve said.

"Wait, what?" Ava asked.

"Don't use your speed." Steve instructed. "Don't use it unless it looks like we're losing. If we're all beaten, then you make sure that Bucky and I make it to the hangar and get everyone else to safety. Your speed is our insurance policy."

Ava nodded. She knew that Steve didn't want Ava to be too involved in the fighting. He still sees her as a kid.

"You can run fast?" Wanda asked. Ava noticed a flash of pain in her eyes. She remembered that it was reported Wanda's brother Quicksilver had died during the Sokovia battle, a speedster himself.

"Very." Ava responded. Wanda's face was difficult to discern, but it didn't make Ava feel uncomfortable. It was just the opposite, actually. Wanda's strength and aura was reminding her a lot of Daisy's. Ava wondered what Daisy must be thinking right now. If she was trying to track Ava down. Maybe she wasn't, maybe she was putting her trust in Ava in that she was safe and that she would come back.

"Here, everyone take a comm." Hawkeye said, pulling out a rucksack from the van and having everyone take out a small black earbud. Ava put hers in her ear and gently pressed down on the button that turned it on. She heard a slight feedback and then nothing.

"Testing 1, 2, 3." Sam said, speaking out loud although Ava could also hear it through the comm. "Everyone works?" They all nodded in response.

"Okay, let's go." Steve said. The patchwork team quickly walked down the stairs of the parking garage and headed out towards the tarmac. There was not a soul in sight.

"Now, Captain?" Scott asked through his helmet that he just put on.

"Yes." Cap responded back.

Scott cracked his neck and then held his left hand outwards and pressed his thumb down on a red button. All of sudden, Scott was nowhere to be seen.

"Woah!" Ava exclaimed, realizing that he had shrunk when she noticed a small figure jump onto Cap's shield.

"Yeah, it's not always cute." Sam grimaced. Ava wanted to know the history behind that.

"Alright, I'm going to go out in the open, draw in Tony. Clint, Wanda, you two keep your distance but get out there too and stay hidden until it's time. You three, head to the building now." Captain America ordered.

As Wanda and Clint broke away and circled around the columns of the parking garage and large crates, Ava, Bucky, and Sam ran towards the terminal. It felt almost funny for Ava to be running, but not at her actual speed. Once inside the building, Ava heard Steve in her ear.

" _Tony, the doctor is behind all of this. And he's planning on causing more damage. We got to get to the other super soldiers._

" _Your highness."_

The three found a position on a walkway on the second floor crouched down, overlooking the whole airspace. Ava noticed that not only was Iron Man there, but so was his buddy War Machine and two others, one Ava assumes to be Black Widow and another unknown man, but was in a suit completely in black, resembling a panther.

" _You got it all wrong, I can't let you do that. I got to get to the five others before him, Tony._

Sam tapped on a screen attached around his wrist, and from his pack came out a tiny red plane. "Say hello to Redwing." He smiled.

The bird floated above the trio and then zoomed off towards an opening in the terminal, getting an aerial view of all the hangers.

" _You did that when you signed."_

Ava kept a rapt attention to "Redwing," watching as it scanned along unseen. Sam stood up and started walking down the steps. Ava and Bucky followed in suit, and she noticed the metal armed man keep glancing back at her.

"What?" She asked.

"How do you know Steve?" He asked.

"It's a long story, but through mutual friends to keep it short." She responded. It seemed that that was all the man needed, because he didn't pry further.

A beeping came from Sam's screen and he stopped in his steps. "Found the quinjet. It's in the fifth hangar." Sam spoke into the comms.

" _Alright Lang, you're up."_ Steve said.

Sam and Bucky broke in a run towards the end of the terminal, and Ava followed in suit, staying behind them. Ava couldn't deny that for the average man, the two still ran pretty fast.

"So which one of you is the pilot?" Ava asked.

"I am!" They both said in unison, and then glaring at each other momentarily. Ava couldn't help but laugh.

Ava could hear through the intercoms the fighting happening outside. Ava would be lying if she said she wasn't feeling like she was somehow missing out. Ava developed a thrill she had long been avoiding since she joined Daisy's team. The thrill of fighting and winning.

"What the hell is that?" Bucky questioned.

"Everyone's got a gimmick now." Sam said bitterly and annoyed.

"What's wh-" Ava started, but then stopped speaking. She even stopped running.

It was Peter. He was scaling against the side of the glass. The two men kept sprinting forward, not noticing that Ava had stopped and Peter hadn't noticed Ava was there.

Spider-Man broke through the glass and knocked down Sam in the process. As Bucky was going to land a punch, Peter caught his metal fist.

"Woah, you have a metal arm! Sweet!" He exclaimed. He was wearing the new suit that Stark had designed for him.

Sam got back up and bolted for Peter as these large, metal wings extended out from Sam's pack and the two shot up into the air, the two throwing punches at each other as Peter tried to escape.

"Gonna do something?" Bucky questioned, looking back at Ava.

"Yeah, just." Ava paused. She then pressed down on the comms to speak live so that Sam could hear too. "You two keep distracting him. Don't hurt him."

" _No promises, his voice is really annoying the hell out of me._ " Sam responded.

"Yeah I'm beginning to learn a lot annoys you." Ava joked, running around a kiosk and hiding behind so as not to be spotted as Bucky threw a metal map towards Peter.

"Dude!" She exclaimed, looking at him as he hid behind a column.

"Hey, I think you lost this!" Ava heard Peter shout out. She could see the map barreling back towards Bucky and as Peter's attention was stolen from the Falcon, Ava slowed down the map long enough to let Bucky get out of the way and then she let it crash down on the ground.

Suddenly, she saw Falcon barreling down through a kiosk and Spider-Man trap him against a railing.

"Hey Bucky, come here." Ava whispered. He crept over towards her hiding spot. "Change of plans. Spider-Man can't know I'm here, not yet. I'm his element of surprise."

"Spider-Man? Really? And how do you two know each other?" Bucky said.

"He's my Steve." She turned the comm back on for Sam to be able to listen too again. "Now listen, Bucky, you're gonna run up behind him. He's gonna know it and you're going to let him take you down. You too Falcon. When he leaves I'm gonna head out there and subdue him. You guys keep going to the hangar, that's what's important."

" _Mercury, I'm sorry. I didn't know he would be here_." Steve said as he fought on. It was strange for Ava to hear Cap say that name. Mainly because that was her SHIELD codename, which meant that Steve not only knew Ava was in SHIELD, but that he somehow had access to certain SHIELD records.

" _Buck, Sam, follow through with her plan."_

Bucky nodded and then sprinted towards Spider-Man. Spidey managed to simultaneously knock down Sam and Bucky. Even though it was planned, it was still impressive. Spider-Man landed on top of another map and then webbed down Falcon and Winter Soldier. They listened on to his stupid rambling, but Ava had heard enough of his fighting banter to be able to drown it out.

She sped closer to the scene and hid behind debris. Ava brought down her metal band and let the metal liquify and twirl around her fingers. This was the best thing Fitz had ever given Ava, she loved how flexible the metal's uses could be.

Just as Ava stepped away and exposed herself, Redwing shot through the terminal and cut Peter off mid-sentence, sending him flying and crashing through the terminal to outside not-so-gracefully.

"You only did that now?" Bucky deadpanned.

"I hate you." Sam responded.

"Or could have just not done that at all." Ava shrugged, running towards the pair and turning the metal into razors, sending them through the webbing and cutting the pair free.

"You can control metal?" Bucky asked.

Ava only smirked in return when she saw the realization hit his eyes that Ava could easily control his arm.

"Good thing you're on our side." He said.

Ava was starting to doubt sides right now, though.

She just sped off without a word towards outside. The vibranium circled around Ava as she searched around for Peter when a quarter mile away, a huge explosion went off, sending Tony's team backwards.

" _Oops. I thought it was a water truck."_ Scott said through the comms.

" _I see the quinjet."_ Hawkeye said.

" _Everyone, on me."_ Stever ordered.

Ava wanted to find Peter, but orders were orders. She didn't know what she would do when they got face to face. Ava didn't want to have to fight Peter. But it's not like they were exactly friends anymore, so anything could go in this moment.

"Damn it." She cursed herself. She saw Sam and Buck emerge outside and she followed after them. The three joined flanks with Captain America, the whole team running towards the quinjet.

Suddenly a bright, yellow beam cut in front of their path, separating them from the hangar. Ava looked up to see that it was Vision, floating magnificently in the air.

"Steve, you may believe that what you're doing is right, but for the good of everyone, this must end now." Vision spoke calmly.

Tony landed with Black Window, and War Machine flew in with the black suited man. And then Peter swung in. Ava saw Peter take a step back and Iron Man look to Peter, probably telling him to keep it together. To focus on the bigger picture.

"What are we doing, Cap?" Sam asked.

"We fight." He responded back resolutely. He started jogging forward and they all followed him suit, with Tony's team doing the same until they all broke out into a sprint. Ava was running straight towards the man in the all-black suit. Ava concentrated the vibranium and also took the bronze that lined against the packs on her hips to create a bo.

Then they all collided. Ava hadn't completely mastered the techniques of a bo, but she was handy enough in it. The panther dude jumped up in the air and prepared to strike Ava with his claws. Which were made of metal. In fact, she could sense that his whole suit was made of metal. Vibranium metal. She brought up the bo and struck down the man, who rolled across the tarmac.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." She chuckled. Ava waited for him to stand back him and he came forward again. "How do you have the most rarest metal as a suit of armor?" Ava questioned him as they fought.

"How do you have control of the most rarest metal and create it as a weapon?" He responded back with a thick accent that Ava couldn't figure out where it came from.

The panther knocked Ava off of her footing and as her head hit the ground, she lost concentration, but managed to sense his suit and send him flying back. Disoriented, Ava stayed on her back. Large black dots clouded her vision and everything felt like in slow motion. She turned to her right and across all the fighting, she saw Peter and Steve fighting each other. Ava brought her finger up to her ear and turned the comm live.

"Steve, don't forget he's really strong. Knock down the walkway for the planes." She said through ragged breath. Steve took her advice because a few moments later, she could see the walkway cave in and Peter catch it.

Steve ran off and met with Bucky.

" _We gotta get going, Steve. That guy is probably in Siberia."_ Bucky said.

" _I'll give you cover, you get to the jet."_ Steve says.

" _No! You both go! The rest of us aren't gonna make it, we'll all cover you."_ Sam responded.

" _He's got a point. We might have to lose this one."_ Clint said.

" _This isn't the real fight, Steve."_ Sam reminded him.

Ava forced herself back on her feet, slowly gaining back her bearings. One good thing about her body being fast, it also meant fast healing.

" _Alright then, Sam, what's the play?"_ Steve asked.

" _We need to distract them with something big."_ Sam said.

" _I got that! I can do it! I might tear myself in half, but I can do it! On my signal run for it."_ Scott replied eagerly. Seconds later, Scott is suddenly over 50 feet tall and holding onto War Machine like he's a bug.

"Holy shit!" Ava exclaimed. "That's your guys' signal, run!"

Scott tosses War Machine like a rag doll and Spider-Man manages to catch him with his webbing and swinging him back into the fight. Scott kicks a transportation bus towards Vision and the panther, but Vision manages to split the bus in half with his body.

Still a great distance away and without hesitation, Ava controls the broken bus and smashes them together. The panther dude managed to slip away and run after Steve and Bucky, but Ava succeeded in trapping Vision. She turned her head to see that Giant Scott got in between the panther dude and then the rest all began to converge around Scott, trying to take him down. War Machine flew in with Spider-Man riding along with his web and then as War Machine fired shots, Spider-Man was swinging around Scott. Hawkeye ran up and started to fight back the panther.

Ava saw Steve and Bucky get closer to the hangar when Vision used his yellow beam to knock down a tower and attempt to block them from getting in. Scarlet Witch managed to hold it up and Ava started running towards her when she saw War Machine swoop in and used a tech against her that was hurting her head by using high frequencies.

" _Ava!"_ Steve yelled out through the comm.

Ava held her hands out and tried to stop the collapse, but it was mostly cement crashing down that she couldn't stop, although she still managed to give them a small window to get through the collapsed tower. Ava then returned her focus back to War Machine and crushed the device that was disturbing Scarlet Witch before controlling his suit and throw him across the tramac.

War Machine only shot off towards Scott, and Ava followed in suit.

Spider-Man starting wrapping around Scott's legs and Iron Man and War Machine circled around. Ava knew where Peter was going with this.

"Not today, twinkle-toes." Ava muttered, throwing her arms out and mentally grabbing hold of Iron Man and War Machine, keeping them suspended in the air. They both went full blast on their boosters to try to get away from her grasp, and it caused a real strain on Ava, but she held on even more. Then, both of the tin cans started firing missiles at Ava.

"Shit!" She let go of her hold on them and narrowly dodged the missiles by directing them around her. She was still fairly close to the blast radius and was sent flying forward towards the nose of an airplane, creating another concussion. But this one was worse than the one before. Everything about Ava's sense were dulled and she couldn't seem to open her eyes. A minute later, Ava felt the ground shake, but she couldn't move. Was that Scott? Did he fall? Who was Scott, again?

Ava kept hearing an incessant buzzing in her ear and she couldn't get rid of it. No, don't get rid of it. Focus on it.

" _AVA! I NEED YOUR HELP! NOW! WHERE ARE YOU!"_ The yelling hurt her ear and she clawed away at it until it stopped. There was still a painful ringing in her ears and her head throbbed like mad, but she started to regain consciousness. Ava had accidentally taken out the earbud, but when looking up, she saw in the distance a human figure hurtling towards the Earth.

"Oh no." She whispered. She began to run towards it, full speed. Ava kept tripping but she still pushed forward. When she was close enough, she realized too late that it was War Machine. Ava reached out with her powers to try to slow him down, but he was falling to fast and too close to the ground for Ava to succeed. He crashed down to the Earth. Tony landed next to him and Ava could see Sam land nearby.

Then she saw Tony blast Sam down to the ground. And Vision fly towards them. Despite still feeling like shit, Ava braved it and sped towards Sam and grabbed him. She threw him over her shoulder and then sped back to the damaged plane she crashed into. She found Scott and then sped over to him. She tried as gently as she could to lay Sam down next to Scott, who was conscious, but fully exhausted. Turning into a giant must have taken all of his energy.

"You gotta get out of here." Scott said.

"What?" Ava said. "What about you guys?"

"Don't worry about us. But you gotta get out of here." Scott assured her.

"Cap wouldn't want you captured. Go, we can handle ourselves." Sam said through the pain of essentially having the wind knocked out of him.

"Okay." Ava nodded, looking around the area before here. The whole place had been destroyed. Ava saw Wanda in the distance, still on the ground, but sitting up now and surveying the damage herself. A few yards away was the bo that she created. She heard in the distance sirens.

Ava sped away while summoning the bo to her, transforming the bronze back to her black SHIELD suit and the vibranium as an armband. She ran all the way to the parking garage. How the hell was Ava going to get out of her with all the authorities about to swarm the place? Much less out of this country and back to upstate New York?

"Avery."


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I noticed a review asking what Spider-Man this is. So I actually didn't draw inspiration for this Spider-Man from any of the movies when I started, but instead a mixture of comic book spidey and someone I knew at the time when I started writing this, although I would say his character has sort of changed from that inspiration. Mostly to try to incorporate this Holland version since I like his interpretation since I try to stay away from the movies, _but_ I do picture Tom Holland in my mind as to what Parker looks like.

Deep inside the parking garage, she saw Peter.

"Peter."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Ava bit back. She was angry, but she was hurting.

Peter's eyes on his new suit shifted, getting smaller as if scrutinizing Ava. He began walking forward, and his demeanour didn't look in the least bit friendly. Ava tightened her fists, sensing all of the metal nearby.

Peter then ran forward and shot a web at Ava. She dodged it effortlessly and every other web he shot at her. Ava didn't want to hurt Peter. But it seems like it was the only option in this moment. So, Ava cheated. She used her speed. Ava understood why her speed was always a last resort in a fight. In SHIELD, her speed was only used to get to places fast, not used in fighting. For one, Daisy was hesitant in training her speed in fighting because Ava did have unusual strength and to couple that with moving as fast as a bullet (if not faster sometimes), it could mean accidentally killing someone. But Ava knew restraint. She could contain herself.

Spider-Man was moving in slow motion, the sirens in the distance, everything in slow motion. One thing Ava learned from Peter was to be careful not to break the sound barrier, and she never has. It would not end well for the civilian hearing and feeling that excruciating boom right by their ear. She knocked him to the ground as gently as she could. If she used any more force, he would break bones in real speed when smashing to the ground. Then, Ava used the metal from a car bumper and ripped it into pieces to keep him trapped down to the ground. She made sure his wrists and hands were covered so that he couldn't use his webbing. It would take concentration, but she could keep the metal down on him.

He struggled, trying with all of his strength to break out, but Ava was stronger. Ava crouched down and ripped off his mask to expose his face. He wasn't angry anymore. Peter eased up and just laid there against the makeshift restraints. He looked defeated.

"I didn't want to fight you, Avery." Peter sighed. "I'm just trying to do what's right."

"I am too, Pete." Ava said, letting go of the metal after some hesitation. Peter still didn't move to get out of them. "You know that secret identity you're so fond of? Stark is trying to get rid of that."

"It's not like everyone will know my identity. He's just trying to keep things like Sokovia from happening again."

"I know." Ava nodded, sitting down and setting his mask next to him. There was a pregnant pause, where the two old friends just stared at each other. "You didn't choose me, Peter."

"Why should there be an ultimatum in the first place? I shouldn't have to choose between my life, my relationships, over you!" Peter exclaimed. He now tried to break free from the metal, moving the pieces away with ease. "You're my best friend, you're my family. I would never leave you, Ava."

"It felt like you did. Peter, I…" Ava faltered. There was a new ache in Ava's chest, one that she's never felt before. "We got to get out of here." She said instead. Without waiting for Peter's response, Ava grabbed him and sped up to the floor where the Bug had been left behind.

"Warning would've been nice." Peter said, looking ready to barf.

The doors were still unlocked and by the looks of it, Steve had started the car with the wiring. Ava turned the car on with ease and pulled out of the parking spot, tires screeching.

"Alright, 2 Fast 2 Furious!" Peter steeled himself, rapidly putting his seatball on. Ava couldn't help but laugh at that. "Where are we going?"

"…No clue." She responded. Which, was a white lie. Ava knew of a place to wait for any more of Steve's instructions. Well, she wasn't entirely sure, but it was an abandoned SSR hideout that Steve had once talked about during his time in the war when she would go to Avengers tower in those rare times. Steve and Ava hadn't bonded a lot, but there was definitely a camaraderie between the two. No denying it was mostly because of Ava's mother.

The only problem was that Ava had no idea how to get to the hideout. She wasn't even sure where in Germany they were. The even bigger problem was trying to avoid getting caught. Thankfully, no German police were anywhere in the parking garage, they were all heading straight for the ruined tarmac.

Ava made it on the streets and drove, just first trying to get as far away from the airport as possible.

"Please tell me you have civilian clothes." Ava said.

"Uh." Peter chuckled weakly.

"Great." She sighed. But she then remembered that Steve's civilian clothes were in the car. They would definitely be way too big, but it was something for the time being. "Clothes in the backseat, just wear those for now."

Peter fell towards the backseat ungracefully, long limbs all over the place. Getting out of his suit was easy, all he did was push down on a button and it loosened and slipped off like silk. He changed into the clothes that was three times bigger his size and struggled to even keep the shoulders of the white shirt on him.

Ava pulled into a busy street and parked in a tiny lot. "Ditching the car now, come on let's go."

Ava got out of the car and popped open the trunk to where there was a duffle. It was stashed with cash and passports of Steve and Sam under alias names. She took it and closed the trunk shut.

"Put your suit in this." She said. He did so quickly without anyone spotting the bright uniform and held onto the duffle.

"You know, you're not very incognito yourself." Peter stated. He did have a point. She was in an all black combat suit.

"Yeah, well neither are you." She sighed.

She started walking down the street, which on the sides of all the buildings were stands set up selling all sorts of things like fresh fruit and vegetables, hot meals, trinkets, and clothes. Ava walked briskly up against a clothes rack where the worker was busy trying to sell off some ridiculous shawl to a tourist. She used her speed and quickly grabbed clothes for Peter and herself to change into and shoved them into the duffle bag, all without Peter even noticing.

"Come on." Ava said.

"But–" He tried to interject, but Ava gave him a knowing look that shut him up. He clutched the duffle tighter to his body and and continued forward. They continued down the busy street and Ava quickly grabbed a city map from a stand. Munich. What a lucky, small world.

"Well, we're in the city we need to be." Ava said relieved. They continued walking at the end the street was a corner cafe shop where a couple of girls sat giggling over a boy on this dating app. One girl was leaned forward so that everyone could get a clear view of the boy on her phone. There was a burgundy faux leather jacket draped over the girls chair and Ava snatched it and put it on, and continued to round the corner.

"Was taking that jacket necessary?" Peter questioned, keeping up with Ava.

"No." She smirked. "Go put on the new clothes." She nodded towards a restaurant and Peter dipped inside, asking to use the restroom. The language barrier was difficult, but they eventually understood when he kept pointing to the bathroom and making a funny dance.

Afterwards, they kept walking until they found a park and Ava found a secluded corner to sit on a park bench and figure out how to get to the hideout.

"What's the plan?" Peter asked, electing to stay standing and kept looking around. Peter was getting increasingly shifty.

"We're not gonna get spotted, trust me." Ava said. "And I'm looking for a place that we can lay low and then figure out how to get back home."

"Home? And what's home for you?" Peter asked, a dark look on his face. "'Cause from what I remember, it's not me anymore." Ouch.

"You didn't choose-" Ava stressed out, but Peter cut her off.

"Yea, I didn't choose you, you keep saying that. But Ava, why should I have to choose between you and a girlfriend?" Peter asked, getting heated again.

Ava didn't respond. She wasn't entirely sure why. She just knew that she didn't want to be second to Peter. Even with MJ, it would feel like that, but Ava would push through and put in the effort with Peter to stay close. Ava stopped with the thoughts and focused back on the map, she couldn't afford the time right now to worry about her drama with Peter. Which she knew was petty. But she couldn't help but feel betrayed by him when he ghosted her.

At the same time, Peter watched on and did thinking of his own. He refused to accept the plausibility in his mind because it would hurt too much. Peter was about to lose Ava forever right now. So, he can't accept what he believes might be the answer to their fight.

"Avery Douglass, I'm sorry." Peter whispered.

Ava looked up, and before she had a chance to speak, she was suddenly trapped to the bench. Peter and released a full cartilage of his webbing on Ava, wrapping all around her body and sticking her to the bench. She couldn't move an inch.

"Peter?"

Suddenly, men in heavy tactical gear swarmed around Ava with guns ready. On fired a small gun and she felt a dark stick to her neck.

"It's enough to knock out an elephant so it should keep her under long enough." One unknown man said. Ava struggled to stay awake. In a last conscious panic, Ava had warped all the metal in a mile radius, knocking cars off roads and lamp posts bending and snapping, guns getting knocked out of the hands of the soldiers with some accidentally firing.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing." Ava heard Peter say, but he sounded miles away.

–

Ava's body felt like shit and she was starving. Groggy, she opened her blurry eyes and tried to assess her surroundings. There was a thick glass wall right in front of her and a tray of bland food on the floor. She was wearing a grey jumpsuit that itches everywhere. She groaned as she sat up from the stiff, tiny bed. Beyond the glass, she noticed she was a circular room and that there were other rooms similar to hers, except Ava's was made completely of plastic. Occasionally, a single guard circled around.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart."

That voice sounded like Clint Barton's.

"Barton?" Ava said through a sandpaper throat.

"The one and only. How did you get here? You were supposed to get away."

Peter. Peter had betrayed Ava, but more deeply than he ever has. He tricked her. Tony must have told Peter to make sure that I get captured also. No more kid gloves from that guy, I guess. But for Peter to have actually listened to Tony and gone through with it? Ava has never felt more alone.

Ava never responded to Clint, she just let her body deteriorate and try to make sense of not where she was, but instead how she ended up here. Did she ruin things with Peter so badly that she was now the enemy? She knew she was doing the right thing by helping Steve, but she also knew that Peter must've felt right in helping Tony also. That didn't have to make them enemies, right?

But no, it did. It happened when Peter turned her in to the authorities and now she's locked up god knows where. Ava could sense the metal in this prison, the whole place was practically made of it and Ava could hear thunder and something smashing against the place, but her own personal room was made entirely of plastic, keeping her from trying any tricks. And the fact that whenever Ava tried to control the metal outside of her room, she couldn't. It was like her senses were dulled, a thick fog was between her and her ability to command metal. Ava didn't even bother trying to run or punch her way out, either. She felt much too sluggish to try. So there she stayed sitting on the bed, reliving her final moments with Peter and the heartbreak that came with it.

After what seemed like hours later, Ava heard the sound of an airlock releasing and a metal door sliding open. Footsteps echoed and then stopped near her. Ava was getting more and more tired by the second. She hasn't eaten in a day, which for Ava was very bad. She needed food after that battle that happened at the airport. But Ava couldn't bring herself to go anywhere near the prison food.

She heard muffled sounds, people talking, but couldn't quite make them out. Then a few minutes later, Ava heard loud, fast tapping sounds. It was from the clear wall. Ava looked up and could make out it was a man. She got up, staggered over to the glass. She couldn't tell how thick the glass was. It had to be thick enough to keep Ava inside. Although, she wasn't faring so well in the moment.

It was Stark. Ava tried to let out a low laugh, but it sounded mangled coming out of her dry throat. Tony looked scared.

"Kid, get some food." He demanded. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"You don't lock up kids in whatever hellscape you put us in. This is a place for monsters. Are we monsters Tony?" Ava had no energy, but something sparked within her. Hatred.

"You're not sorry! You stand there in your perfect little suit and think you made a difference, Tony! Well, you certainly did. You betrayed your teammates. Look at them, Tony! You manipulated Peter so that he could fight for you! If he knew what Steve was trying to do, he would've helped him instead of you! Does he even know the whole story!"

"You don't even know the whole story!" Tony yelled back. He stood there, frustrated. "Barnes _bombed_ the UN, Ava. And Steve is trying to protect him because he's his old war buddy. And you know what? I didn't have to convince or trick Parker. You broke his little heart when you gave him the giant fuck you, that kid loves you to death and you're the one that pushed him away. I'm just trying to do what's right and Peter understands that."

"Something tells me you don't know the whole story either. Steve is loyal, but even more so to the people. If it really was Bucky, then Steve wouldn't be protecting him, he would be turning him in. You know that." Ava said, her vision going blurry. Ava hearing Tony say that she was the one who pushed away Peter made her realize that he was right. Despite Peter ditching her, she was the one that decided not to let him in, not give him a chance. "Maybe I did do that to Peter. Maybe he does deserve better. But you put him in the position of choosing between you or me."

"And he chose me."

"He chose you."

Tony then walked away and soon enough, the prison was in silence once again. Ava almost collapsed on the floor, but she steeled herself against the glass. Her breathing became more labored as she struggled to just stay awake. Something told Ava that she couldn't fall asleep.

"You need to eat something." She heard Clint say. "Come on, eat something."

Ava wanted to protest, but she found her limbs to fall down to the floor, her hands to reach out for the stale toast, take measly bites, swallow it with great pain, drink some water, and repeat the process until she moved on to the cold and soggy vegetables and then to the tough steak until the plate was bare. She was still hungry, still exhausted.

"It's not enough." She said. At least she sounded better now.

"You burn calories faster, don't you?" Clint asked.

Ava nodded. "Yeah. A lot faster."

"Just don't fall asleep, okay? The next mealtime should be coming soon."

"Okay."

Clint just continued talking to Ava, trying to make sure she stayed awake. It wouldn't surprise Ava that if she kicked the bucket right then and there, the government would just ditch her body in an unmarked grave and call it a day. They wouldn't try to save her. And Clint knew that too. They spoke for a long time until Ava heard Scott speak up as well. And then Sam. And even a few times, Wanda. They were all there, save for Steve and Bucky. Which meant that there was still a chance at saving the world.

Then the next mealtime came. Ava's portions were significantly bigger than last time. This time, she scarfed down the food while it was still warm. She felt a lot better this time around, but still hungry. At least she was more clear headed. Ava wondered if Tony had advised the guards to give her a full feast instead of standard portions.

Ava wasn't sure what time it was. When she asked the guards, she wouldn't get any response.

–

"You have any kids?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, one. Her name's Cassie." Scott responded. "You?"

"Nah. I have a dog. I left him a box of pizza before I left. A friend of mine should be realizing at this time I'm screwed and is probably going to go take care of him right now."

They continued talking, and Scott described his daughter to Clint as Ava listened on. Cassie sounded like an odd little girl, but incredibly sweet and a huge daddy's girl. Scott would do anything for that little girl.

The hours kept on dragging by and the guards started bringing food out to Ava at the top of every hour. The meals helped her keep track of time and also slowly build up her strength back to normal. The food was bland and disgusting, but Ava needed her strength. As much as she wanted to give up, she knew she needed her strength. Since the last meal everyone as a whole received was the final dinner meal, it meant that it could be sometime around four in the morning right now. Ava's meals stopped coming at what she guesses was two in the morning.

Wanda had been asleep for some hours now, or maybe she was still awake, but staying silent the rest of the night. Ava could hear two different sets of snores, coming from Sam and Scott respectively. But like her, Clint was still awake. She could hear him pacing and then stop for a while and then start it up again. Eventually the pacing stopped altogether. Ava rested on the ground near the wall that was shared with Clint's cell. There was no one held in the opposite side of her, so this was the closest thing to company she had.

Once the guard had left patrolling the prisoners for the night (there was still probably more monitoring them through the cameras), Clint spoke up. "You never answered my question earlier."

"About what?" Ava asked, although she knew what he was referring to.

"How you got here." She could hear shuffling come his end and Ava sat up to sit against the cool wall.

"You heard my lovely conversation with Tony." There was no response coming from Clint. He wanted an actual story. Ava wasn't sure if she could give one without falling into that dark place she was in when she first woke up in her prison cell. It kept creeping around the corner of her mind, ready to reel her back in.

"I got away like Scott and Sam told me to," Ava started, "But I ran into Spider-Man–"

"Peter?"

"Yeah. Peter. I ran into him in the parking garage. We were fighting, and I took him down– with no problem, may I add– but. Okay, let me just say first that Spidey and I have a history. We're really good friends. But we had a falling out. So there I was in the parking garage and I could've left Peter to what I thought would be German authorities arresting him, but I had him come with me instead. We got in the Bug and we got away. We changed clothes, I got ahold of a city map. We stopped at a park so that I could figure out what to do next. I was planning on hiding out someplace that Steve would know of and wait for him to come, but Peter didn't know that. And I guess Peter had plans of his own. It was a trap. And then I woke up here, feeling like I had the worst hangover of my life."

It remained silent after Ava said all of that. She reflected on her words. She left out the heart-wrenching moments she had with Peter, the bitterness. Their history. Because Ava has now fully accepted what she was going to say to Peter before she stopped herself. And then Ava thought about everything that has happened to her the past year. How she lost her friends. How she lost her brother. How she had met Lip.

Ava had learned to accept that Grant was safe and happy without Ava, and it was better that way. Ava had learned to accept that she may never see her friends ever again. But Ava sometimes wished that things were different with Lip, even though she knows they can't be.

"You know," Ava cleared her throat, wanting to just keep talking to Clint. He was a pretty good listener. "There was this guy I met about a year ago. He was Harry's cousin. Harry was a friend of mine. And he was the stereotypical 'bad boy.'" She laughed at calling Lip that. "He was the first person I ever fell in love with. And we weren't even that serious. We never called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. I knew that he slept around, girls would giggle about it in the bathrooms at school. But I didn't care, because I didn't want a relationship. But I didn't want sex either. I don't know, I guess I was just content with being around him and he was content with being around me. It was like a weird friendship, but we both knew it was more than that.

"Time went on and eventually we didn't work out. My life changed and I didn't want to rope him into it. And one day he was almost exposed to that world, and it was terrible. I realized he couldn't ever know about me and what I can do. So we said our goodbyes. And I haven't seen Lip since.

"I've been starting to miss him less and less. And it's not because I've stopped loving him or I've started forgetting him. It's because of this life. There's so many threats that you have to focus on only on saving everyone, you can't ever focus on yourself."

"But being in here makes you miss him, huh?" Clint said.

"Yeah." Ava's voice faltered for a moment, but she controlled herself. "Being in here is making me miss everyone." And it was a feeling that Ava hadn't felt very often. She missed Grant and Lip and her old friends all over again. Especially Peter. No, she missed the Peter that used to Skype her into the late night or sometimes early morning. The Peter that she would study with and wind up watching TV in the end instead and then they would fall asleep (even though there was still daylight out). The Peter that was always there for her.

Ava wasn't angry that night that she saved him from the Vulture and had that big fight. She was jealous, and she wishes that she would have taken that night back. Maybe things would have been different right now. Maybe neither of them would have been at that airport because they wouldn't have agreed to fighting against each other. Maybe Ava wouldn't have stayed with SHIELD, she would have said thank you to Daisy and Coulson and the rest of the team and walked away and headed back to the station until she could find a place of her own. Maybe things would have been different if instead of pushing Peter away that night, she would have instead embraced him. Ava missed her best friend and she hated that she did. Ava wished that maybe she should have told Lip and dealt with the consequences, as selfish as that is. They could have been in a real relationship, and there would be no issues with Peter, no complicated drama. It could have been simple with Lip.

There was a lot of things that Ava was wishing she could change as the night continued and became day. She didn't get a lick of sleep. She didn't feel tired either, she felt right awake. And this night, it was a night that made Ava realize that she needed to shed this life once again.

AN: So, one major character arc I've changed is Hawkeye/Clint Barton. I'm not following his MCU story. I'm sorry, but I can't. For reference, I'm following more of Matt Fraction (which if anyone reads comics and hasn't read Fraction's Hawkeye series PLEASE DO) because that series is great and a great take on Clint to me personally.

Also, this chapter finally reveals (without going right out and saying it) how Ava and Peter feel about each other. I wanted them to have a fight over Peter spending all of his time pining after some other girl and essentially "forgetting" about Ava, or putting her second, because this was a first for Ava to experience during her friendship with Peter and it forced her to have to deal with these emotions. When Ava sees Peter at the airport fight, it forces her to again deal with these emotions, but process them slightly better. And then in the prison, Ava has to make a decision, and we will see what decision she's made and what that means for her and possibly Peter.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: I know that I'm super slow with posting, I'm sorry! Sooo, I decided to post two chapters back to back.

The next night was no better than the last. Everyone mostly kept to themselves. Clint and Ava spoke a few words, but it was mostly making sure that Ava was okay. After that, everyone did their own thing in their cells. Clint paced, Scott slept, Sam did push ups, Wanda meditated, and Ava sat on the edge of her bed as she watched the guard rotations.

While Ava didn't feel sick anymore since they began feeding her more, she still felt muted and dulled. They were somehow repressing her powers. Maybe it was through the ventilation system, or the overhead lights in her cell, or in the food. Maybe it was like the SHIELD tech that was in the transport. But that never made her feel as if she was missing a 6th sense.

There had to be a way out of here. She just had to find an opening. Which could mean biding her time. Which meant it could take weeks. But Ava was determined. So there she stayed sitting perfectly still and eyeing the guard who knew he was being watched, but paid Ava no mind, just kept walking around. After an hour, he stepped outside of the room and it was just the prisoners. Ava couldn't let on that she was trying to find a way out, just like how the rest couldn't let on they were trying to find a way out also, because each cell had a camera and mic.

So they all remained silent. The day sluggishly vanished into night, although it made no difference to the broken team. At midnight, Scott went back to sleep. Two hours later, so did Sam, Wanda, and Clint. But Ava stayed wide awake through the whole night again.

Her mind was swimming with these endless thoughts. Needing to figure out an escape plan, SHIELD, if Steve and Bucky succeeded, Peter.

She could distract a guard somehow. Maybe try choking on something, that would force them to open the door. But there's a good chance that they wouldn't, this prison is meant to apparently hold the worst of the worst. It's meant to hold the vigilantes masking themselves as heroes. So harming herself wouldn't work, they would let her die before they opened the door.

Ava won't be able to join SHIELD again. Not with the government breathing down their neck, no matter what kind of pull Coulson can have. Even if Coulson managed to okay Ava joining back, she would be a constant risk to SHIELD. Any good that they try to do will be tainted by Ava. The government would start keeping a tighter rein, more specifically, General Talbot: the man who had an agenda against SHIELD. Ava hoped that Jemma was found safe and sound. When she was there last, Fitz had run off to some unknown place in the world, tracking down the origins of the monolith that swallowed the sweet girl whole. If anyone can save Jemma, it's Fitz. Ava also hoped that Daisy had saved more InHumans like Idra, and hopefully those that would like to join her team.

What if the duo failed? What if they got there too late because it took so long to get to the quinjet? But maybe they didn't fail. Maybe Steve and Bucky got to the base right when the crazy doctor was there and they battled and won and the supered assassins were never awoken.

Ava tried thinking back to every memory she had of Peter. Every moment. Everything couldn't have been smooth sailing. And it wasn't.

When they first met in the chemistry lab, they were stuck together instead of Ava being paired with MJ and Peter being paired with his friend Ned. They were awkward and bumped heads. Ava wanted to change the formula and Peter wanted to be a goody-two-shoes. She did what she wanted and ended up creating a minor explosion that gave them an F and earned Ava detention. But after that they became inseparable.

When Ava had gotten her abilities and kept denying them, Peter had gotten frustrated with her. He forced her to see that the only thing to do was to embrace them. Peter helped her the most with accepting herself, even if he never got to see it fully realized when she joined SHIELD.

Ava could recall all the times he argued with her over every boyfriend or girlfriend that wasn't good enough for Ava. And in the end, they never really were. They were either indifferent, wanted her only for sex, or had different expectations. Lip was the only one that Peter semi-accepted. Maybe because Lip was was actually different, even if Peter objected to him at first. But Peter saw how much she cared for him.

Even the bad memories turned out good. Except for the fight at SHIELD. And now the civil war between the heroes. Ava knew that he was doing what he thought would be the right thing and what he thought would appease Stark at the same time. Peter had to have accepted that turning Ava in would result in losing her, just like he accepted everything else about her.

The morning meal came in for everyone and it became a new day. All the days became like this, food, planning, self-deprecating, wishing. It had been a week of being locked up when the following night became different from the rest.

Ava watched the guard. None of them had names or faces to Ava. They all just blended together. And she hated that. She wanted to put faces and names and emotions to them, she wanted them to be human.

"Do you think this is right?" Ava asked loudly, projecting her voice so that the guard couldn't mistake a word she said or the fact that she was talking to him. The others in their cells stopped whatever they were doing and watched the guard along with Ava.

The built man broke the cadence of his walk, but continued walking around the room.

"Do you think the right call was made here?" She asked, wanting to get an answer out of him. Or something. Anything.

The guard broke from his regular path around the prison to walk directly towards Ava's cell. His bright green eyes stared Ava down and his lips pursed in, as if keeping himself from exploding. He was so close to the glass that when he breathed, a small bit on the glass fogged up.

"You broke the law." He eventually said after a long pause. His voice was incredibly deep and had a slight southern twang.

"Was the law right?" Ava pushed, not breaking away from his gaze.

He didn't respond, but instead walked away and continued his post. Ava laughed humorlessly, and sat back down on the edge of the bed. The man had a duty to protect the public from the prisoners in here, but he hated every moment of it. The man knew that Ava and the rest had tried their best to protect the people themselves. Ava realized that he must have once been a soldier and understood the burden of casualties. The way he carried himself made it obvious.

The day continued listlessly for the group, taking meals and counting hours. The green eyed guard left and another guard came in. By the time it would have been dinner mealtime, no food ever came. Usually another guard came through the doors with a cart carrying the trays of rubbery meat and plastic vegetables, but he never came in. The guard watching the heroes made no move to leave or seem concerned. After a few minutes though, she started to seem agitated. Suddenly, her walkie went off, but it was quickly cut off before a voice came through.

"Report." She spoke into the walkie talkie, other hand hovering over the gun in her strap. "Is everything okay?" Nothing.

Suddenly, the doors did open, but it was not a guard with a food tray.

"HEY!" The guard shouted, in the process to lift her gun but it was deftly knocked out of her hand by Steve Rogers. He kicked her in the stomach that sent her doubling back and when she tried to strike, Steve dodged and landed a punch of his own which effectively knocked out the woman.

He looked up, and smiled at the group. They won.

"Took you long enough." Sam quipped.

"Well, I'm here now aren't I?" He chuckled, walking back out through the door. Seconds later, the doors to all of their cells opened.

Ava walked through to a large, outstretched hallway that had three stories and walkways for all the prison cells. She followed along the curved hallway until she reached an open door and went through with Clint, Sam, Scott, and Wanda in tow. The open room looked like a breakroom for the guards, with one knocked out on a chair and another splayed out on the floor. Stever and Black Widow were standing in front of the exit of the break room.

"Nice." Ava cackled. "Also, Black Widow?" Last Ava remembered, she was on the opposition of the fight.

"Natasha." She corrected, smiling at Ava. Okay, she wouldn't question it, but accept that she was now suddenly Steve's right hand woman.

"Come on, guys, this way." Steve said, opening the door to reveal another long hallway that led to an elevator at the end.

"I'm staying." Scott said.

"What?" Sam said, exasperated. "You serious?"

"I can't be on the run. I have a daughter. I've let her down once before, I can't do it again." He replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down next down to the knocked out guard.

"Respect." Clint said.

"You haven't let her down, Scott. You've done her proud." Ava said sincerely.

Everyone stood a little taller as they left the break room, saying their goodbyes to Scott. It took a lot of bravery to stay back and continue to accept the consequences, despite how unjust the law was to him.

They walked down the hall when Ava realized something. "Wait! Do you think they stored our things here?" She asked. They all stopped in their steps, also realizing it would be important to get back their suits and weapons.

"It would be incredibly stupid of them to keep both the prisoners and their weapons in the same place, but the balls on Ross tells me that he would think both would be safe here." Sam said.

"This way." Natasha ordered, taking the group through the first door on their right. It was locked, but she kicked it down. There was a line of lockers in the room.

"My turn." Steve said, turning towards the next row of doors and shoving against each of them until they found the right room.

All of their suits and weapons were in here, but kept behind tight security. They would need a retinal scan, fingerprint, and passcode to unlock the safes.

"Great." Natasha groaned.

"This looks like the same setup for the cells." Steve shrugged, probably not understanding that it would still be a pain in the ass for Natasha to crack it.

"Oh yeah, if it seems so easy, Rogers, why don't you do it yourself?" Natasha retorted.

"Hey," He responded back, throwing his hands up, "I didn't say that."

"I can help." Ava said. Her hacking wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good. "I don't know how much of a help I can be it's a complicated system, but I know my way around a computer."

Natasha nodded her over, whipping out a machine that attached to a port in the scanner and plugged it in. Codes appeared on the screen and Ava cracked her fingers.

"Work on the passcode and override the fingerprint while I figure out this retinal scan." Natasha instructed.

Ava went to work. Clint watched over her shoulder, occasionally making "suggestions" to Ava to help speed along the process.

"Do you want to do it, Clint?" Ava asked, turning to face the man.

"What, no, you're doing great." He said. "Now come on, you gotta input the command."

And the two continued on, working together with Clint acting as if he wasn't. It actually didn't take long, thanks to Clint, but they all managed to bypass all the security and open the safes. Ava immediately found her clothes, metal band, and shoes. Fitz's running shoes. She quickly removed the prison shoes and tossed them over her head in order to put on her greatest possessions. They felt so light and comfortable and safe.

Everyone grabbed their things and then exited the room, heading back towards the elevator. Thank god for Senator Ross being an arrogant ass.

They all crammed together in the elevator. All of the prisoners had a slight stench to them, due to the fact that they never once had been given shower privileges. The first thing that Ava would do once they all reached safety was a take a nice, long, warm shower.

The elevator doors opened to reveal an apocalypse-event storm. It was pitch-black outside, but Ava still couldn't mistake the great clouds that housed intense thunder and occasional lighting alongside harsh rain. She could hear the booming crashing of the waves below her and felt the freezing breeze with every crash. Despite the terrible weather condition, Ava felt alive. She could sense the metal again. It wasn't just in her cell that she couldn't use her abilities, it was the whole prison! Ava squeezed tighter her metal band and felt it bend underneath her fingers. She still wasn't strong enough to lay the whole prison to waste and turn it into a crumpled ball. She needed to gain her strength back.

Ahead of the group was a quinjet waiting to be boarded. They all piled on and Natasha got the bird in the air despite the storm. There was undoubtedly very big turbulence, but Natasha managed to keep the quinjet in the air through the storm as they continued forward.

"I know a place where we can lay low!" Clint said through the headsets they wore to be able to communicate. He got up from his seat and made his way to the cockpit with Natasha, shaking back and forth.

Ava hoped it was a place where she could stretch her legs. That was much needed.

Maybe it was only 10 or 20 hours. Or maybe it was nearly two days. Ava wasn't sure what time it was when the quinjet landed in the middle of nowhere. Tall grass stretched on towards the horizon, and next to the big, red barn, there was a corn field that looked to be only ten feet by ten feet long. Not far from the barn was a simple home with a white porch.

The others got out of the jet, but Ava stayed on the ramp, just taking it all in. The sunlight shown down on all of them as they walked towards the house, Steve leading the way. She thought the scene almost beautiful and surreal. Ava is constantly questioning how she got in this position. They have risked their reputations and most importantly, their lives, when they step out into the sun to save the world. What has Ava risked except for her livelihood? It's nothing compared to what these guys have done.

"Come on, let's get some food in you." Natasha said, breaking Ava out of her reverie. She didn't even notice that Natasha had been standing a few feet away.

"I'm going to need a lot of eggs and bacon." Ava said half-jokingly. Natasha's stare was more than just looking at Ava, it was _seeing_ Ava. It almost unnerved her, how Natasha could do that.

"You fought against superheroes. That's not something just anyone can survive." Natasha told her as the two walked together towards the house that everyone else was already inside of.

"Did we win?" Ava asked.

"Not exactly." Natasha said, making Ava give her a double take. "The assassins were taken care of. But it was by the 'doctor,' Zemo. It was all some big, elaborate plan to get to the Avengers. To break us all up. He was behind the bombing, not Bucky. He was the one that lead Steve and Tony to the Serbian base. He wanted them to turn against each other, and they did. So, the world is safe, but no one truly won."

"So, the fighting was all for nothing." Ava said, feeling like every step she took filled her shoes with more lead. "We fought because of some puppet master, not because there was a real threat."

"I wouldn't say that. We were all fighting for what we thought was right. I wanted to bring justice, and I'm sure that's what Tony and the rest of them believed. Just as you and Steve believed, too. And justice will be served. Zemo was turned in."

That's why Natasha had "switched sides." She only wanted to make things right. Ava hadn't read all the files like everyone else in the world did, or all of the articles and news coverage, but she knew that the Black Widow had done some tremendous acts in her time. It's why she has no true allegiance to one place, one person, or one organization. Natasha marches to the beat of her own drummer, her own morals, because she's trying to right her wrongs in the ways she knows how to. And that means always doing what she believes to be true. She first thought she needed to bring in Bucky Barnes, because he looked to be the bad guy, the threat to protection and safety. But she suddenly _did_ put her complete trust in Steve. Ava wasn't sure how she came to that decision, but it looked to be the right one.

The pair walked through the doors and smelled fat cooking on a stovetop.

"Bacon?" Natasha asked, walking into the kitchen while Ava remained in the foyer.

"No, spam. It's been a while since I've gotten fresh groceries for this place." Clint replied, flipping over said sliced pieces of spam.

"Don't raise any piggies here?" Sam queried, coming from the dining room.

"No." Clint laughed. "No, uh, piggies. Only corn. Although I think they're almost dead now." Ava looked out towards the corn field and she had to admit they seemed a bit droopy and shriveled. But only a bit.

Ava closed the door behind her, letting the rest of the world shut along with it. She clutched her suit tightly to her body. They were all still wearing the prison uniforms. Ava knew that if she put the suit back on, it wouldn't change the current predicament that she was in. Ava is still considered a criminal, she is considered to be on the run.

"Come join us." Wanda says in a soft voice, coming into the foyer to guide Ava towards where everyone else was. Ava was now in the living room, sitting on a couch next to Wanda. Steve was also in the living room, leaning against the entryway and watching his team make small talk and smile and finally relax for at least this moment. After a few moments, he turned away and joined the two women.

"We're going to have to go into hiding." Steve sighed.

"But this right now is nice." Wanda supplied, looking back at her team with a small smile. "It's nice to finally breathe."

Ava felt the heat radiate off of Steve. Wanda's own energy was so calming and cooling, but the man next her felt as if his emotions were constantly raised, like he hasn't had his own moment to breathe.

Clint had ended up cooking (with the occasional help from Wanda, which was good thing since he nearly burnt everything) a big pot of rice, five cases of spam, a bag of popcorn, three cans of beans, and set out a whole case of cup noodles for anyone to grab and make. Wanda found a lemonade powder and poured freezing cold water in a large pitcher and mixed in the powder. It wasn't exactly a normal feast for breakfast, but it was food and it was warm.

"I also have hot sauce." Clint shrugged, taking out a bottle and setting it on the counter.

Everyone went in a line around the kitchen, filling their paper plates up with food. Ava and Steve naturally had the biggest portions. And whatever leftovers there were, Ava ate of all them. She ate the food that was left in the pots and pans, and bits that were left in everyone else's plates.

" _Damn_." Sam said, with a genuine terrified look on his face.

"You would do great in those eating contests." Clint said.

Ava only grinned, cheeks stuffed with food.

Even after everyone was done eating, Ava starting on the cup noodles. When everyone gathered around living room to start discussing a plan, Ava brought the steaming cup with her and silently ate.

"I was always jealous when they brought out more food for you. But now I understand." Sam said.

"It was never enough." Ava said as she finished the last bit, even drinking it all, and then rushed into the kitchen and heated up some more water to pour into another cup.

Once Ava returned back to the circle, Steve started speaking.

"Alright. So we're all considered fugitives, outlaws. This means we can't go back to our normal lives. Probably never again. I want us all to keep in touch. Every now and then, Natasha will send out a message to all of us, make sure that we're still alive."

"What do we do?" Ava asked, not eating now anymore.

Everyone knew what Ava meant. Not how do they stay under the radar, not where should they go, but how do they carry on in their lives? Steve didn't respond, just looked at Ava solemnly. The war can't be taken out of the man, so what happens when the man is taken out of the war?

"None of us know. Just keep going forward, see where that leads us." Sam said. It was an answer, but it didn't feel like the right one. It wasn't good enough. Ava wanted to be told what to do next. Up until now, Ava had been offered new lives, but now she has to choose for herself.

The team spent the night sprawled out all over the house. Steve fell asleep on the couch with Sam knocked out on the loveseat. Wanda, Natasha, and Clint fell asleep in three of the four bedrooms in the house (they were small, but seemingly comfortable). Ava actually fell asleep outside. After everyone eventually found a place to settle in for the night, Ava stepped out onto the porch. She sat on the swing porch chair and rocked back and forth, watching the multitude of stars. There wasn't any other life in sight for miles. This was the best hideout Ava has ever been in. The best-looking home she's ever been in.

The rocking back and forth relaxed her mind for one moment. She wasn't being bombarded with the same thoughts she had in the prison. She only grew more and more tired. Ava had only slept a total of 16 hours in the prison. The rest of the time, she was wide awake. But now, she could finally sleep.

The early morning light pushed down harshly on Ava's eyes. It hurt to keep them closed, and it hurt to keep them open. She stretched her legs and so many bones cracked, but it was still more comfortable than the bed in her cell. Ava stepped into the house and heard only light snores come from somewhere in the living room. She went in the other direction of the kitchen and living room to the downstairs bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face and then started washing away all of the dirt and grime that stuck to her pores.

Looking up at the movie, she realized what a wreck she looked. Ava seemed more worse off than the rest, and it wasn't because she looked more dirty. She looked more starved, more pained. A shower. She needed to shower.

Ava krept upstairs and found the bathroom and turned on the shower. As she let the water warm, Ava neatly folded her suit on the counter. She took off her shoes and socks and set them in the corner. Then, she started to take off the clothes they gave her. There were two layers to them, A thick grey shirt, a blue long sleeve, thick gray pants, and then thin blue leggings underneath. It was to keep them warm and Ava realized it wasn't because they cranked the AC; it was because they were in the middle of the ocean and the whole place was made of metal.

The water greeted Ava with open arms. She let it swallow her whole and stood there for a few minutes before making any movements. She felt so much freer just by standing there like that. Ava washed her hair, which was a terrible process. Brushing it would literally take over 20 minutes. She washed her body, multiple times. All of the dirtiness from the fight washed away. So now there was only Ava.

Her body had definitely become more toned when she started training with Peter, but her thighs were no close to being skinny, they were just muscle now. She had now developed abs. She had actual muscle on her arms too. Ava was skinny before she hit puberty, but then afterwards her metabolism had changed and she started to gain more weight. But then her metabolism had changed again after Terrigenesis. Ava probably weighs more than she did before, but it was because of all the strength she gained. She knew that it wasn't the Hollywood body that gets shoved down every girl's throat. That she looked more masculine now, that some of the scars from fights and training weren't pretty. But she was okay with that. Her body was hers and it was strong, no one could take that away from her.

Ava changed into her suit, the only kind of clothes she had left. The SHIELD emblem wore itself proudly on the arms below the shoulder of the suit. She ripped them off and clutched them tightly in her hands as she walked out of the bathroom.

Almost everyone was awake by now, bustling about the house.

"Took you long enough." Clint said, walking past her and heading into the bathroom.

Ava continued down the hall and found Wanda in her room, already changed back into the clothes she were in during the fight.

"I need you to cut my hair." Ava said. It was so matted down and terrible that Ava didn't even want to deal with her hair, she just wanted to chop it all off. Wanda nodded and invited her in.

Wanda rummaged through the drawers in the room and found a small pair of scissors. She just started snipping off pieces with no care, just trying to help get rid of most of the mess. Knotted locks after knotted locks, the pieces all fell down and Ava felt lighter after every snip.

"There." She finished, with a proud look.

Ava walked over to the small vanity in the mirror and saw her new hair. Her curls looked healthy and tighter, they framed her face quite well. Ava knew that when she ran it would turn her hair into an afro since she couldn't put it in a braid anymore. She didn't care.

"I love it." Ava smiled, turning around and hugging Wanda as thanks. The gypsy-woman was taken aback at first, but then accepted and embraced the speedster back.

They were all going to head back to the quinjet today. They were going to get dropped off at different parts of the world and acquire new identities. Ava wasn't sure if she was completely ready for that.

Breakfast was quick, and soon enough they were all walking back to the quinjet. Natasha and Clint manned the controls, preparing for liftoff as everyone strapped themselves in.

As the jet took off towards a new, secret life for all of these people, Ava messed with her metal armband. She turned it into a swirling halo, hovering over her fingertips. She knew that she had to settle some history before she took on her new life.


	20. Chapter 20

"You were hard to find."

Five months had passed by and Ava had been traveling across Europe. Every now and then, Natasha would contact Ava. Sometimes it would be a cell phone call, other times it would be Natasha showing up in whatever apartment she was staying in and they would cook something together and share a fairly nice dinner. The two had bonded pretty well, despite only keeping in touch once a month. Ava has only heard from Steve twice, once when she settled herself in her first apartment in Iceland, and a second time on her birthday. Steve (nor Natasha) couldn't physically be there for her birthday, but Steve had still managed to send her a package. She received a silver necklace that had a small little outline of Saturn on the chain and a letter. She put the necklace on and sat down to read the letter.

 _Dear Avery,_

 _I can never forgive myself for dragging you into this fight. You are so young, now only 19 years old. But I keep reminding myself that you are a fighter, and not to mention stubborn, and you would have joined in eventually._

 _The Sokovia Accords have made all of our lives harder. There are heroes like Spider-Man and Black Panther that have accepted it with open arms, but many others are resisting. A lot of powered people and their families have been at risk for attacks, Nat and I are trying our best to protect them. But we sometimes can't save all of them._

 _But your life and your story is a reminder to me that not all hope is lost. That even if we can't protect everyone, they can still stand a fighting chance to survive like you did. I know about your home life. Tony once looked into you, and what we saw angered us. We were glad that you had found a new life for yourself, however tough it must've been. And I know it was even harder to let your brother, Grant, go. And I don't need to tell you either that Grant is a fighter like you. He's doing alright._

 _You have a chance to start over now, although I doubt you'll do that. Wanda has done it. She keeps quiet, found herself a place in Scotland. Vision has started visiting her, but I'm not worried about him trying to turn any of us in. And I don't know how to begin to start addressing whatever is going on between those two! But anyways, I'm just saying that you can find a place to adjust. Iceland seems like a good fit for you, I hope you stay there._

 _I'm also sorry I haven't visited. I know I should, but it's a greater risk to you if I'm there compared to Nat. She can easily blend in, I can't. I stick to the shadows a lot, I have to and I hate it. I hate that this is our new reality. But we're still doing good in our own way, so that keeps me going. I've accepted that there's no going back, and a part of me likes that, as weird as that sounds._

 _I know that you're into space, so I hope you like the necklace._

 _Steve_

Ava didn't stay in Iceland though. She was always nearly risking her identity so many times that she had to start out someplace new. It wasn't even the issue of not being recognized. With Ava chopping off her hair, then dying it black and straightening it, wearing clothes in dark shades, changing her gait when she walked out in public, it was easy to blend in to the crowd. She just had to make sure that if she was in a populous city, to avoid going out often and to avoid heavy police traffic. If she was in a small town, to avoid being a hermit because if she didn't make any friends, people would tell that she had a secret and they would try to look into her. And it was easy to do that, to put on a friendly face. The problem for Ava was acting like a bystander.

She couldn't bring herself to stay idle when someone was in trouble. She would save a life, right someone's wrong, and she would have to flee so that no one would look into her.

Now, Ava was in Paris, living in a dingy apartment. Her French was terrible, but it had improved in the last two months that she had been living in the city. And it was here in her apartment that she had been made.

"You said that you would be back soon." Daisy spoke up again after being met with silence from Ava.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't go back." Ava said, trying to fight back the swirl of emotions invading her.

"I know." Daisy sighed, sitting down on a fold out chair in Ava's dining room (if it could be called that). "We all realized what happened when we suddenly saw a mug shot of you along with the Avengers on the news. And when we were trying to find a way to get you out of the Raft, we saw you on the news again about how Captain America broke all of you guys out. And we all realized then that you wouldn't and couldn't come to back SHIELD, even if you wanted to. So I've been searching for you. Which wasn't easy, by the way. Right when I thought I found you, you were gone. Iceland, Germany, Britain, and now here in France. SHIELD cameras spotted a woman in the frame one moment, and then gone the next during an attempted robbery on a poor old lady. The woman saved the old lady's life, and they said that the camera's glitched. And I'm betting that you didn't notice that camera, otherwise you would've wiped the files like you've been doing every time you save the day."

The two then just remained in silence. Ava looked worried out of her mind, afraid that Daisy would then explode at her and tell her how she was a terrible person who should've at least tried to contact Daisy and the team. But instead, Daisy just closed the distance between the two and gave her the tightest hug, squeezing her as if she'll disappear if she didn't.

"If you're ever in trouble, we'll always answer the call." Daisy said, breaking away from the embrace.

Ava nodded, trying to fight back tears, almost choking on them.

The two sat down and caught up.

Daisy told Ava how Jemma had been found. More Inhumans have been rescued. One Inhuman, Hive, that was found in the planet that Jemma was somehow transported to had travelled through to Earth and tried to turn everyone into Primitives (man-made Inhumans that a scientist created, trying to replicate the actual abilities of Inhumans, but resulted in Hulk-level disaster). Another Inhuman named Lash had been killing their kind. Evil androids have been attacking SHIELD. It was like Daisy and the team hasn't had a moment to just breathe.

Ava told Daisy how the Falcon had been tracking down Ava and found a time where she would be alone to speak with her, how she was flown all the way to Germany alongside Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man. How she had fought Spider-Man and how Peter had betrayed her. Ava having to stay in hiding after Steve Rogers broke her free. Ava trying her hardest to not use her powers, but not being able to stop herself. She told Daisy how she couldn't stand not doing nothing.

They continued talking, whatever came to mind. But it seemed like time had flown by so fast because all of a sudden, it was time for Daisy to go.

"But real quick before I go…" Daisy said, with a smirk on her face.

Idra phased through Ava's door, bringing with her Fitz, Jemma, Coulson, and May. Ava practically tackled all of them and they all embraced. Now Ava was crying.

"Oh come on, Douglass. Suck it up." Fitz joked, although Ava could hear him choking up.

They all separated and Ava looked at Idra, shocked to see her standing before her.

"I couldn't bring myself to leave SHIELD." She shrugged, a big smile on her face.

"And we all couldn't miss a chance at seeing you one more time." Coulson said.

Ava knew this would be the last time she would see any of them, and she was overcome with emotion. But it was okay, because there could be worse circumstances. At least this is a proper goodbye.

* * *

Ava remained in Paris. It had been nearly three months living here and a month since the team had given Ava a proper send off. After they all left, she felt incredibly empty, hitting a kind of depression that she hadn't felt since she was separated from Grant. Coulson had said that Grant was settling well in middle school, and had joined the school band. He plays the trumpet.

It didn't feel like home in Paris, but it was as close as she was going to get. She found herself a job in a dingy antique shop. There was no formal paperwork and she gets paid cash at the end of every week. It wasn't the greatest pay, but it was quiet and under the radar. The owner of the shop was Emile, a 60 year old man that had an affinity for collecting items for his shop and for American reality shows. He spoke broken English and Ava spoke broken French, so they would speak both languages to try to understand each other. One thing that Ava loved about M. Emile was that he didn't ask any questions. He just put her to work when she walked through the door and wasn't much for small talk.

She burst through the door of her small apartment and kicked off her simple shoes. Her running shoes have been collecting dust in the back of her closet. Ava rummaged through her fridge and pulled out a single cold slice of pizza. She bit into it, hungry like mad. She finished that within seconds. And the rest of the leftover slices. And then she ate two protein bars. When Natasha visited her in her one month of living in Germany, she had started dropping off cases of protein bars like the ones that Peter and Fitz would make for her. It helped a lot with cutting down on groceries or having to resort to stealing food as she had to do sometimes. Nat once jokingly said that she should start building a garden of fruits and vegetables. Ava couldn't even keep a succulent alive.

She collapsed on the bed in a tired and sweaty heap. Her eyes grew heavy and she quickly descended into sleep.

A few hours later, Ava wakes up from being lightly kicked on her leg. Through groggy eyes, she recognized it was Nat. Only blonde.

"Nice hairdo." Ava said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

"Nice to see you too." She smirked.

The two fell into an easy conversation, catching up. Nat tells Ava how Steve has been slowly growing a beard, his face now scruffy. It was a funny image to have of the man who was always so clean and always so put together. She also goes on to tell Ava of how they had recently rescued a boy who would freeze anything he touched. He's now been relocated to a school in upstate New York, a place for gifted youngsters. Amidst all of the controversy with the Sokovia Accords and the growing tension growing all over the world, Xavier's school continued to be Switzerland.

"How's everyone else?" Ava asks, nearing the end of Nat's visit.

"Same old. We're all just getting by in our own way." She responds, getting up from the fold out chair. "I wish that you would work with Steve and I. You would do a lot of good. And having you around wouldn't hurt us either." She smirked.

Maybe Ava should. She's finally settled in Paris, but it doesn't feel like her life. She's tried so hard to move on from what happened in Germany, but has struggled how to accomplish that. Maybe this is that chance.

Steve wasn't happy when Natasha returned to the hideout in London with Ava. But he knew that Ava wouldn't leave, wouldn't live a quiet and normal life like he would have liked for her to try to do. So begrudgingly, he accepted her presence.

They went on countless missions. There was always a life that needed saving. Steve and Nat were the offense, they were the first to barge in on a scene while Ava was defense and got the at-risk supered person out of there. Ava took them to a hideout that would be scouted by Nat, and then once she learned how they got their powers, arrange a way to take them to the right refuge. For experimented on people, they would go to facility in London that helped them acclimate to the changes they went through and help them get settled into everyday life. For mutants that first developed their powers, Nat would take them to an X-Man representative in whatever city they were in and they would go back with that person to Xavier's school. For InHumans, Ava would contact Daisy and she would meet with her or a woman named Yo-Yo, who could run as far as her heartbeat would allow her to until she snapped back to her original spot, in a secure SHIELD hideout and take them back to SHIELD to either join Daisy's team or get resettled. Oftentimes, it was a person using their abilities in public and then the team making sure they got there before the authorities did. But other times it was people being hunted down by either scared townspeople or a task force that was created from the Accords that tries to catch powered people and they either sign a contract that says they work for the United Nations and monitored at all times or refuse to sign and get sent to the Raft. It was imprisonment either way.

One boy that she had saved with Steve and Nat stuck with Ava. His name was Jean-Paul. They were doing missions in Canada and JP, as Ava had taken to calling much to his annoyance, was someone they had accidentally stumbled upon. He was in the same all-boys orphanage that another powered kid was in. While they were trying to rescue the boy, JP had stepped in and helped.

Ava saw this 15 year old boy send blasts towards the authorities, sending them flying down the hall. He was strong and rough at the edges, but he had this boyish humor that reminded Ava of Peter when they were high school together. Even though she wouldn't ever admit to anyone, much less to herself, she kept seeing Peter in him. It wasn't like they were alike either, just small little things that made her think of him.

"Here to save the day?" The boy had said sarcastically with a slight French accent.

Steve looked at him with a smirk. "No, but here to save your hide." And then at that moment, Natasha shot out one of her stun darts at an officer that was going to attack the boy.

"I'll go look for… the other one." Ava said, still surprised at seeing the unknown boy. She sped off down the hall, examining every room until she found him.

The boy they had originally come to rescue was Bernard. He had been discovered a few days ago using his abilities, which was walking through walls.

"Come on, Bernie." Ava said, reaching out her hand. "I'm here to take you someplace safe." He looked terrified, frozen on the bed. "I'm just like you." Ava made the metal arm band shift and the little 13 year old noticed, eyes growing wide with not fear, but interest.

"Come on." She gently coaxed the boy out of his room and they ran down the hall. Heavier outfitted officers started stepping inside the now evacuated orphanage, save for all of the supers.

"Surrender now or we will fire!" The officer threatened. Ava pushed Bernard behind her and she raised her arm, ready for the onslaught which readily came. Bullets shot out of the machine guns and Ava stopped them with ease. The countless bullets were suspended in mid-air. When the officers realized what was happening, they ceased fire. Ava let go of the bullets, sounding like tiny bells as they clinked to the ground. Ava gained control of all of the metal on their person and threw them back, flying out through the front door and windows.

"Mercury, come on!" Steve yelled out from the back room. She sped with Bernard in her arms to meet with the others. "Jean-Paul here is coming with us."

And they escaped. Nat took over transporting Bernard to a safe hideout until one of Xavier's X-Men came to pick up the kid. Ava and Steve kept trying to convince Jean-Paul that he could go with them. See, Jean-Paul wanted to run off, do his own thing. He thought that he could make it on his own. And considering his power is to be able to channel the kinetic energy from his own body and direct a blast and beam of light towards an enemy, he could theoretically survive on his own. But Ava saw this potential in the tall, lanky kid. She looked into his blue eyes and saw greatness staring back at her.

"JP, you can do some _real good_ if you go under the wing of the X-Men." Ava reasoned.

"Please stop calling me JP." He sighed, running his hands through his black hair. He seemed stressed at this point, and Ava knew that she was getting to him.

"You have these abilities. It's literally in your genes to become greater. And I know it's scary, trust me, I know. I spent a long time ignoring my calling. But I look at you and I see someone who knows that they can't let these abilities go to waste. You know that that's the worst possible thing you can do." She continued, staring him down. His features are strong. A boy who will someday become a man and not accept a no-win situation. And the world is going to need that.

"…It's a crime to not do something with what I have." He said quietly, finishing Ava's train of thought.

Ava smiled triumphantly, glancing back at Steve with pride. He looked on at the young woman and realized that he was in the presence of someone special. She had now become a leader, and a strong one at that. It's a quality that's not taught, but born within a person.

The following week, Ava had personally taken on the task of sending Jean-Paul to Xavier's school. It was already risky enough when the X-Men had to come retrieve a refugee, so to make a second trip so soon after them getting Bernard, they could get easily caught. It was a terrifying trip, but Ava did it. She enjoyed spending time around Jean-Paul, and despite his cold exterior, he eventually let her in.

Ava learned that Jean-Paul had lost his parents young, unsure of how they had died since no other information was given to him. He never goes into much detail, but he had briefly mentioned once that he was in some sort radical group against the government. The more she got to know JP, the more she actually started seeing herself in him. His features and altruism were much like Peter's, but his resilience and history reminded Ava of herself.

When they made it inside the United States, there was an X-Man waiting for them deep in the woods, jet fired up and ready to take Jean-Paul the rest of the way to the mansion.

"The Infamous Mercury." Ororo Monroe warmly greeted Ava, an extremely powerful woman otherwise known as Storm to the public. Her white hair was styled in a tall mohawk, piercing blue eyes and full lips in glee. "It is great to finally meet the woman that has been protecting mutantkind amongst others." She had a slight accent that Ava couldn't exactly discern from where it came from.

Ava greeted Storm, the two going straight for a hug instead of a formal handshake.

"And you must be Jean-Paul." Storm turned to look at the boy. "We're glad that you found your way to us."

"See ya later, JP." Ava waved as the pair walked towards the Blackbird.

"Stop calling me that!" He called over his shoulder. Despite not looking back, Ava knew that he had a smile on his face.

* * *

AN: So yes, Jean-Paul is Northstar. This is obviously different from his real storyline to kind of fit the MCU and my story, but I liked the thought of having Ava being a part of an op where you, the reader, can see superheroes before they become superheroes thanks to her involvement. I'm not sure if Northstar will return again since he's just meant to be in this chapter, but don't be surprised if I bring him back because I think he's awesome.


	21. Chapter 21

Ava didn't leave the US. Nat and Steve were extremely against it, but Ava decided to stay. She could get caught eventually, but there were kids in need in this country too. The toughest crackdowns have been made here more than anywhere else in the world.

She kept her ear close to the ground, listened for any strange activity. Natasha had taught Ava plenty about Spy 101, like how to know what to look for. Ava stayed mostly in the east coast for the time being, and there was little rescue operations happening. There was a lot of cases, but usually the authorities would get there before Ava did. She ran faster and faster, but they still beat her to the punch. The United States has become a militarized state, the National Guard are in view in every public place and the police force wear heavy duty armor and weapons. The Accords task force have a base in every state and multiple in more populated areas. They're ready for any powered person to accidentally reveal themselves.

There's also heroes that are registered and assigned a city or district to protect. Spider-Man protects New York City. It's a large city to protect, but Ava had seen in a newspaper that the Fantastic Four take on the load with Peter. Ava can't be completely mad at the side they have chosen. Everyone was pushed under the pressure and they moved in a different direction. But Ava knew that they were enemies now. Even if they felt any sympathy for what Ava is trying to fight for, they will not hesitate to turn her in. She learned that the hard way.

Ava was now hiding out in New Jersey, in between missions. She had changed her look again. Her hair was once again curly, but now blonde. It admittedly made Ava look like a completely different person. And she wore clothes that had more color to them. In the US, she would've stood out if she wore her usual outfits that she wore when hiding out in Europe. That meant high-waisted wash-out jeans, and bright yellow crop tops.

She didn't go outside very often, though. It was mostly to get more food. She couldn't risk being exposed. She was right in the heart of Jersey City, and there was National Guard here. But Ava quickly figured out all of the postings and routes so that she could avoid any risk. If she ever went through an area where she might encounter police and the Guard, she acted as if they didn't exist and held her head higher. The most important thing that Natasha taught Ava about being on the run is to not give away that she's on the run. That meant to not look shifty, to not look over her shoulder, and to not run unless she's been made.

One day, Ava heard something strange in the distance. Like it was an explosion. Or a firework. It was Fourth of July weekend, so people could be celebrating early. But then moments later, Ava felt the ground shake and another explosion, but much closer. And then the sound crunching metal and crushed bricks. She opened the blinds to her apartment and saw Green Goblin. He was wreaking havoc and heading his way down the street.

Ava without another thought, switched into her old SHIELD uniform, save for the insignia that used to shine brightly on the suit. She sped out of her apartment, and onto the street. She caught sight of the Goblin and controlled the metal in her glider and sent him soaring towards her. She was ready to fight him.

"Oooh, who are you?!" Green Goblin cackled maniacally. He then grabbed a ball from his bright orange bag and pressed a button and threw it at Ava. She tried to stop it, but there was no metal in the contraption. Right as Ava sped away, losing control on the glider, she saw in slow motion a web shootout to its target: the bomb that was meant for Ava, tiny tendrils from the web shooting out and expanding.

When she stopped running, she looked from where the web came from and saw none other than Spider-Man.

"Mercury, interesting seeing you here!" He exclaimed, a hint of actual anxiety in his voice.

"A friend of yours, Spidey?" Green Goblin inquired. He began taking a particular interest in Ava. "So what, did Magneto have _another_ kid?" Goblin threw more of those bombs and Peter worked on shooting his webs at them, the bombs sticking to the ground and the explosions staying contained while Ava grabbed any remaining bystanders and took them far away from the scene.

When she returned, Spider-Man was hopping and swinging around the Goblin, getting any hits in that he could.

"Ending this now." Ava huffed. She shouldn't be here. But for some reason she's not running away.

Ava gained control of the Goblin's glider again. But instead of moving it erratically, Ava crushed the propellers so that he couldn't fly away and twisted the metal until they wrapped around his feet. She heard him scream out in pain. She probably broke a bone or two. Whoops.

Peter created a net for the green psycho to land on as he was hurtling 10 stories towards the ground. As he was turning his head to see Ava, she sped off. He only caught a slight blur.

She was back in her apartment, which was stupid. She should already be nearly crossing state lines. But she came back here. Ava knew that Peter's new suit was created by Stark, which meant there was some great, high-tech upgrades that could help him track her. She wasn't going to go back to prison again. Especially not by him, again. Ava collected her things, which wasn't much. She didn't bother with the everyday things like clothes and food, that could be found anywhere else. She grabbed the wrapped wads of money and various passports that Natasha had set Ava up with, a knife that was gifted to her from Hawkeye when they parted ways, and a small photo album.

The photo album contains the only pictures she has left of her mother, of her family when they were once normal and together, of Grant, a few of Lip, and pictures of her old friends, Harry and MJ. Stuffed in the very back of the album were even pictures of Peter, which were never put in the sleeves of the album because she didn't want to make a permanent home of these photos, but she also couldn't bring herself to throw them away. Ava seldom reflected upon them. Every time she did, it would only make her cry and angry enough to knock a punching bag to the ground.

Her hands were shaking so badly that it was a struggle to properly zip up the backpack. She couldn't even think straight at this point. Ava knew this was bad. She needed to keep a clear head. Steve and Natasha were right. They knew what awaited for Ava, but she was so adamant that she needed to be in the United States. She wanted to risk her life because she found it worth it if she saved even one life. Ava had only been delaying the inevitable this past month.

"Wait." She whispered. Her suit. "Remember what Nat taught you." Ava got out of her suit so fast it didn't even take a second. She threw on a plain white t-shirt and her only pair of jeans, the washed out ones. She then put her hair into a low ponytail, blonde curly hair barely being contained, and threw on a black baseball cap and shades that covered practically half of her face. Ava ripped open her backpack to stuff her suit inside of it. She did it so roughly that the album photo managed to fall out. It landed with a loud, hard thud.

"Shit." She cursed, picking it up by the front cover and a few pictures fell out. They were the pictures of Peter. Of course.

Ava laughed bitterly, acknowledging and hating the lame humor that the universe was throwing at her. She picked up the photos, almost hating herself for doing so. As soon as she did, Spider-Man had burst in through the front door, breaking the lock.

"Please don't run!" He exclaimed, taking off his face mask so that Ava could see his face. The sincerity. But how could he expect her to believe those eyes anymore?

Ava dropped everything and the photos, bag, and album littered around her feet. She sensed metal in his suit and threw her hands up. He stood frozen to the spot, not able to do anything. Ava made sure that his hands were pointed away from her, so that he couldn't web her.

"Avery, I'm so sorry." Peter said, his voice cracking. "I am so, so sorry." His eyes started getting red too, tears daring to spill over.

She took off her cap, sitting down on the bed. She felt so exhausted. Peter could only watch as the newly blonde woman struggle to figure out what to do next. Communications. Ava made the metal (which only lined in certain areas and in the circuiting) in Peter's suit–where all the programming for the suit is in–turn into thin wires and break through, tearing small parts of fabric, especially in his chest and back so that his systems were completely down.

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed. She also grabbed his web shooters with her abilities and set them next to her on the bed.

"I don't trust you." She said.

"Why are you here?" Peter asked. "You're technically a fugitive, you shouldn't be here."

"Yeah, _thanks_ by the way." She said sharply, silencing the man for quite some time. Ava should leave. Why wasn't she leaving? Well, she knew why.

Eventually, Ava let go control of the metal and Peter still didn't make any sudden movements. He stood there, unsure of what to do. He looked over to Ava's fallen items and gazed at the pictures of himself.

"I love you." Peter said.

"What?" Ava said, expressionless.

"I love you, Avery." He repeated, looking up to meet her eyes.

Ava burst into tears, not making a sound as she got up from the bed and tried to push Peter but he easily stepped to the side. She then used her speed to shove him so that Peter couldn't be fast enough to avoid it. He flew across the room, landing against the wall, cracking the paint and breaking the drywall. Peter didn't get back up, didn't even dust off the drywall from his suit.

"What am I supposed to do with that Peter?" Ava questioned, crouching down to meet with eyes. "Huh? Tell me. Fucking _enlighten_ me."

"I-I love you." He responded, not capable of saying anything else. He spoke as if that was it. That this declaration was the simplest thing in the whole world. As if he didn't betray her and she wasn't on the opposite side of this civil war that they're in.

It felt like the air was being sucked out of her lungs, like her rib cages were being caved in, like the world was being drained of all color. What did Peter Benjamin Parker seriously expect Ava to do? She had believed his love once before–she thought it to be powerful enough to not let a fight get in the way of it. But she was proved wrong countless times on that account. But here Ava was, still not trying to get as far from here as she possibly could. Here Ava still was, staring at the man she never stopped loving.

Back at the Raft, Ava decided that she would swear off distractions. She didn't allow herself to be swooned by any man or woman that crossed her path after Cap broke her out. It wasn't just the betrayal of Peter that cut her so deep that she didn't want to form any romantic or sexual relationships: it was the fact that Ava had already sacrificed so much in this new life of hers that she couldn't stand to lose any more people. Ava accepted that there's nothing permanent in this livelihood.

"They're gonna realize that my tracker and comms are broken any second now." Peter said. Ava waited on baited breath, wanting to know what Peter would say next. "We should get out of here."

And with that, Ava grabbed her things, Peter's mask and Peter himself, and sped away. She knew she couldn't go too far without making Peter pass out, so Ava crossed into Pennsylvania and stopped in the middle of a field of corn. She let go Peter and he staggered on the ground, no being able to balance himself properly. Then, he threw up.

"Fuck!" Ava exclaimed, realizing she just dug her own grave. Peter wiped his mouth clean and groaned, keeping his eyes shut tight. In the eyes of the government and Tony Stark, she just kidnapped Spider-Man.

"I know that my apologies are never going to be enough, but I'll never stop. I'm sorry." Peter said, standing up straight after having a moment to collect himself.

"Why?" Ava asked, throwing her hands up in the air, laughing. "Why did you turn me in?"

"Honestly? Tony had talked to me a lot about the Accords and the more he talked about it, the more I liked what I was hearing. Protecting the civilians. That was the end goal.

"I never thought that they would send you to that place. I didn't even know it existed. Tony has so many ideas, but he kept some of them from me. If I knew that turning you in meant being sent to the Raft, I never would have, Avery, you have to believe me. I was told by Secretary Ross that you all would be safe, that peace would be made.

"And I was wrong. Tony's intentions are good, he's trying his best, but it's all wrong. It's not getting any closer to being safer for the civilians, and the supers themselves are being hunted down, heroes like you trying to save them while knowing they're going against the law because they believe in what's right. There's private sectors that have contracts with the government to be able to keep them in facilities where they're doing God knows what to them. Even kids. I was wrong Ava. This solution is only a band-aid and now it's getting all icky and gross."

Ava wanted to believe him. She was trying so hard to, she can tell he's telling the truth. That there's no tricks up his sleeve.

"By now, Stark's gonna think that you've been kidnapped or something." Ava sighed. Sitting down on the floor and being swallowed whole by the surrounding stalks of corn.

"Probably." Peter agreed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Or…they could think that I've gone rogue."

"Peter!" Ava exclaimed, shocked that he would suggest such a thing. This was all becoming more overwhelming with every passing moment. None of this was making any sense. And Ava knew that Peter wasn't thinking straight like herself. In what right mind would Ava stay and speak with Peter and then take him away with her? And in what right mind would Peter suggest that he go on the run with her?

"Avery, this isn't just about you. I really did make a mistake. And I want to right it. I want to help." Peter said, practically begging like a child would to try to score some candy from a strict mother.

"Peter, this isn't the way to do it. And you know it." Ava said. This was going to hurt Ava, but she had to push Peter away. Despite her mix of feelings towards Peter, a part of her liked hearing that Peter would pick her, but picking Ava isn't what matters or what's the right thing to do. "You believed in Tony for a reason. You betrayed me for a _reason_."

"That reasoning was wrong!" Peter argued, getting frustrated.

"We're caught up in something _bigger_ than ourselves right now Peter. You can't pick me. You have to pick what side you want to fight on. Not me. The fight." Ava said. Peter looked hurt and conflicted. He knew what Ava was getting at. "I'm not ready to be in a world where I've forgiven you just yet, Pete. So everything that you've been saying, I hope you mean it, that you're not just saying it because of me. Because I'm not letting you pick me, I'm not gonna have you be by my side. And I don't have the time or energy to think about making things right between us. We're in a war, I can only think about trying to save everyone from the crossfire right now. So if you wanna go rogue, it's because you want to fight for what you think is right, not for me."

Ava got her things together and put on her backpack. She handed him his mask, and Peter accepted it, putting it on.

"So what's it going to be, Spider-Man?" Ava asked the web-slinger. He stood up taller, puffing out his chest.

"I meant what I said. I want make things right. I'll fight." He replied. Ava couldn't help but grin, the last image Peter saw of her before she sped off, disturbing the field.

Peter was left alone stranded, making a 360 of his surroundings. "I deserve that." He sighed, starting to jog in the opposite direction that Mercury went. Peter already had a plan brewing in his head. If he was going to switch sides, there was something he had to do first.


	22. Chapter 22

" _Menace Strikes Again."_

Ava was in California a mere two weeks later when she saw the headlines on all of the newspapers and TVs. Spider-Man had broken into multiple facilities in the past month that housed anyone with abilities or suspected abilities in the United States and set free the prisoners. It sparked an even bigger national outrage because now even the people were more polarized on the issue of the Accords.

The past two years or so, there was an overwhelming amount of support in locking up supers. But seeing how they were being abused, malnourished, and one organization by the name Trask Industries were exposed in going so far as experimenting on mutants (including children), the people rioted.

Spider-man is considered a fugitive and war criminal, just like Mercury, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and countless other heroes that have continually surfaced over the months.

She picked up a newspaper with the headline that screamed at her. There was a picture of Spider-Man, but instead of being in the suit that Tony had made him with all the bells and whistles, he was wearing his original suit. The regular, spandex suit that Peter had modified to be more flexible and strong. It was the Spider-Man that Ava had once worked with, the boy that had been her best friend, the one that had helped shape her into who she is today. So, Ava kept the newspaper, slipping it into her bag.

Thanks to the attention that Spider-Man was receiving, it resulted in an even bigger crackdown the country has ever seen. There was curfew in every state. More security. A checkpoint at every state line. Ava was preparing to leave the country. She was going to flee to Mexico. It wouldn't be hard for Ava, all she had to do was make sure that she didn't stop running.

By nightfall she was at Cabo San Lucas, sitting underneath the famous arch. It was low tide, apparently a rarity, but as midnight neared, the water started to steadily rise. But Ava remained. The were no tourists in sight. Mexico had a curfew also because of the Accords. Although, the issue in this country weren't the heroes (all of them had signed the Accords because they believed that it would help their people and get rid of all the organized crime), but the villains. They had gotten stronger, same with the organized crime and corruption. Some heroes were being manipulated or coerced. So the people all stuck together, looked out for each other. It was like this in many countries all over the world.

Twenty minutes later, a small black boat appeared around the side of the large rocks. The boat neared and Ava could now clearly see who it was operating it. Natasha. She had missed the ex-assassin.

Ava waded into the water, the waves crashing against her. Natasha got close enough to help Ava up and the two warmly embraced. It had been almost two months since Canada, but so much seemed to have happened since they parted ways. Like a lifetime had passed, it surely showed on each of their expressions.

"He's late." Natasha admonished. Ava responded by rolling her eyes. He was never one known to be punctual.

The boat rocked back and forth and made Ava go into this sort of reverie, lulling her into relaxing all of her tension. She sat down on the bench and let her fingers dance just above the water where sometimes the water would dance with her and they would meet. The water was freezing and it chilled her fingers, but it felt amazing. Ava wasn't exposed to nature very often having grown up in the, even if it was Queens. So when she did have moments with nature, it always felt revitalizing.

"Hey guys!" A voice called out from above. Peter was standing on top of the arch, to no surprise to Ava.

"How does he plan on getting down from there?" Natasha asked amusingly.

"You're late!" Ava called out as the man scaled his way down the arch with ease and then jumped onto the boat, rocking it enough for some water to get in. "Ugh, Parker."

"Sorry." He said, wide grin on his face. He felt electrified. There is a constant adrenaline that comes with being on the run, and Peter was riding on it undisturbed.

"Let's get going." Ava said, turning to face away from Peter. Natasha smirked, not verbally commenting on the tense environment, but the face she gave Ava was enough. She had to play nice.

–

Natasha took the pair to a dock a few miles down along an abandoned beach. There at the dock was a bigger, nicer, boat. Well, it was actually a yacht. They all boarded on and Nat cruised through the waters, looking badass as always. Ava was downstairs, where there was a room with two bunk beds. She laid on one of the top bunks and closed the curtain that granted privacy. There was a small little lamp in the corner that she turned on and then played with her arm band.

She heard the door open, but paid no mind. Ava didn't know how to deal with Peter. She liked that Peter decided he wanted to stand with Captain America with no guarantee that things would get better between the two. It was a good first step in her eyes. But it didn't mean that it would be easy working with him.

The curtain shifted slightly and Ava could see Peter peeking through with a big smile on his face. What the hell was this guy playing at?

"Hey, Ava."

"Hello, Peter." Ava sighed, having the vibranium wrap around her arm like it was before.

He pulled back the curtain completely and revealed a box of checkers. Ava just gave him a blank stare.

"Oh, come on!" Peter said, remaining hopeful. "We got a lot of time to kill, why spend it brooding?" That made Ava chuckle.

"Okay. Fine." She said, getting out of the tight space.

So there they were, silently playing checkers. Peter never spoke up again, probably knowing better and afraid of ruining the moment. Ava tried not to give it much thought, tried not to give Peter much thought. What she thought of instead, was the next mission. Nat had said that there looked to be some nefarious deals going on in Panama. Deals involving the selling of powered teens to private organizations or shady government officials from countries all over the world. In their eyes, they were selling weapons for their agendas and wars. It was disgusting.

Eventually, the sky started to lighten up a bit as a new morning approached the horizon. They weren't playing checkers anymore. Ava had fallen asleep on the sofa, snoring. Peter was still awake, watching her from the floor.

"Well, that's creepy." Natasha commented, standing at the entrance that lead out to the deck.

"Where did you come from?" Peter asked, startled. He started collecting the pieces and putting away the board to the game.

"I know you care about her, but give her some space." Natasha advised. She then walked over to the small fridge and pulled out a water. "It hasn't been easy for her." She walked out of the room and back to the wheel.

"I know it hasn't." He replied softly, although there was no one to hear him. He took Nat's advice and headed toward the bunks, trying to sleep but failing as the sun steadily rose up in the sky and Ava continuing to sleep through it all.

–

Ava woke up with a pain in her neck. Sleeping on the stiff sofa didn't do her any favors. She groaned and stretched her legs. Getting up, she noticed that she was all alone. The light filtered into the room and she could hear the waves crashing against the yacht as it sailed on to their destination. It wasn't moving as fast as it had been last night.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Nat smirked, looking up from a tablet.

"Mornin'." She responded.

"Hey Boy Wonder! Come inside!" Natasha called out to Peter, who was out in the deck staring off into the distance, seemingly deep in thought. He broke out of his reverie and came in, sitting down in a loveseat.

"Okay," Natasha started, going into detail what the plan is for the upcoming op. They would dock in Colombia four days and have little to no time before they will infiltrate and shake the deal happening in an abandoned warehouse. An X-Man would joining them: Shadowcat. Ava had met Shadowcat once before in a previous mission. Kitty Pryde had the same ability as Idra.

Ava wondered how Idra was doing in SHIELD. If she thought about the girl that took her from her home and tossed her into a strange containment box and further into a strange world. In a different world, they could have become close friends, or maybe even something more. But now, Idra was only a memory in Ava's mind. Such as the same for any other person that she has crossed paths with in her life.

The meeting concluded of the plan and Natasha returned to the top deck to continue command of the yacht. Peter seemed to try to speak up, but no words came out. He faltered once more, and then abruptly got up from the seat and stepped back outside. Ava ignored him, not wanting to dwell on it further, and walked back to the bunks where there was a small, single shower in the very back. She turned on the water, setting it just right. In a small compartment, there were white, neatly folded towels. She took one out and placed it on the countertop. Stepping inside the shower, the warm water relaxed her muscles and mind. There wasn't a thought in her mind, and she relished in that moment.

Afterwards, she quickly got ready and put on a new outfit from her bag. It was the same jeans she had worn in the east coast, but now donning a blue flannel. Ava stepped out of the room and headed towards the deck, where Peter still was.

She could feel a small anxiety blossoming in her gut, but she ignored it with every step forward. She stood next to him without saying a word, just looked out to the ocean. Peter didn't acknowledge Ava's presence, just visibly tensed and then relaxed. They both could exist in the silence for now. That's all that Ava can handle at the moment.

–

They docked a few days later. Natasha had provided Ava with a new suit that resembled her own very much. It was more durable, and was lined with pockets that held a small handgun and a knife. Peter was dressed in his flashy suit, the red and blue the exact opposite of being incognito.

"Would you ever consider getting a more…inconspicuous redesign of your suit?" Ava asked, tying her hair up into a bun.

Peter opened his mouth, offended. "How dare you?"

"Come on, kiddos." Nat said from outside. Ava slung on her backpack and tightened the straps, as the two stepped out. The abandoned warehouse wasn't far, so they walked. They stuck to the shadows, underneath the bright moon.

Once they arrived, there were black SUVs parked outside and three guards at the front entrance.

"Mercury, scout." Black Widow ordered. Mercury gave a curt nod and she sped around the building, noting that besides the three guards up front, there were only three at every exit. Ava noticed in the windows there was one guard each in the front and back, residing on the second story.

"Fourteen guards, three at each door, one in front and in back in the second story window." Ava said, startling Spider-Man.

"Okay, side door plan." Black Widow ordered. Back in the boat, Natasha had anticipated multiple plans if anything went wrong or unaccounted for.

They all made their way around the side of the building where the three guards were. Two were posted on either side of the door and the third one was walking around and surveying the area. This was Mercury's part. She sped up to the men and tapped each of them on the head. She stood in front of them, stagnant now. They immediately collapsed on the floor, knocked unconscious. Ava turned around to face her small team, a smile on her face. They ran up to her, Natasha grabbing keys from one of the guards. She unlocked the door very slowly, and they all sticked to the shadows as they made their way to the second floor.

Along one side of the wall was a line of children bound up and gagged. It made Ava's stomach do flips. In the middle of the room were a few armed men and two more dressed impeccably, negotiating an amount for the children. Nat had said earlier that they were mutants. They hadn't expressed any powers in them yet, but they had tested positive for having the gene. Ava didn't understand why undergrounds would want children that might never manifest powers (since having the mutant gene doesn't always mean that a child will have abilities). Nat had said that they use questionable and dangerous serums to try to activate the mutant gene. And somehow, the public called mutants monsters.

"Hey guys." A girl whispered behind Ava's ear. She turned to see that it was Kitty. She was a petite, but strong girl. And her bright blue eyes were always captivating.

"Hey." Ava smiled, glad to see the X-Man.

Now it was game time. Ava sensed all of the metal in the room, and then honed in on all of the guns in the room. She ripped them out of all of the guards and crunched them into a lumpy ball. They shouted out to each other in alarm, terrified. Spider-Man swung out into the center, dodging punches and landing a good number of his own. Black Widow followed in suit, the pair fighting against most of the thugs. Mercury raced to the children and cut their ties, and then raced towards the businessmen who were trying to run out of the room. Shadowcat went to the children and started leading them out a side door out of the room, where a quarter mile away, the Blackbird was parked and waiting to take off.

Mercury cut off the men's path. She had a big smile in her face, knowing that at least for today, they lost. These men had deep pockets, so they could probably buy their way out of prison. But these dealings will end now. They know now if they try to do this again, Mercury will be there to stop them again. One man had a knife hidden in his pocket, and he whipped it out, as if that could protect him from her. She took the knife from his hand using her power and drove the knife straight into his foot. He screamed out in pain and, as his body doubled over, Ava kicked him hard enough to knock him unconscious.

The other man stood there, frozen with fear. He started speaking in broken English, trying to beg for mercy.

"This _is_ mercy." She said strongly, as she knocked his lights out. Mercy is letting them live, mercy is them facing the consequences. She dragged them both with ease up against the wall where there was an exposed pipe. She got out of her pocket two zip ties to use as handcuffs (Nat had provided them for her and Peter) and made sure to zip them up real tight.

Black Widow and Spider-Man had handled the thugs with no issue, all of them tied up.

"Authorities are on their way and Shadowcat is almost to the Blackbird with the children." Black Widow reported.

"You're gonna have fun in prison." Spider-Man said cheerily to one of the thugs that was actually awake, patting his cheek.

"Fuck you." The man gruffly responded. Spider-Man webbed his mouth shut.

"That's not nice." He admonished.

Ava snorted, rolling her eyes at the webster's banter. Peter took that as a good sign and he walked up to the woman, thinking maybe now would be a good time to make a move.

"We should all go for drinks. It's legal here." He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

This pained Ava. She was starting to want things to work with Peter, but it still hurt her every time she looked at him. Would that feeling ever go away? She just knows that right now, it's ever present.

"We're not there yet, Pete." She said, looking away. "We did good here though." She looked around the room, proud.

"Yeah, we did." He responded, not being able to see his face, but Ava knew he was smiling.


	23. Chapter 23

After the mission had ended, they spent a night at a dingy hotel. Everyone had their own room, their own privacy. Ava took off her suit, only in her underwear as she buried herself within the duvet and sheets. She didn't have the energy to even wash off the dirt and grime of today.

The mission itself wasn't difficult. It's not hard taking down primitive men that don't know how to rely on their senses. It's hard seeing the children. All of their faces so crystal clear and yet at the same time blurring together. There was so many of them. But now they're safe. Now they're being sent somewhere in Spain where there's a doctor that will help them. The doctor will check that the children are healthy, and Kitty will figure out their identities and if they have any family to go to. The ones that don't, they go back to the school with Kitty.

What was also hard was Peter. During the mission, Ava was too occupied to focus on Peter. But after the mission, he was all that clouded her mind. There was no way of escaping him, literally. But she knew that he was trying. He was trying to redeem himself in her eyes. Although it would take more than an apology, and Peter knew that.

When morning came, Ava woke up as the sunlight beamed down harshly through the flimsy curtains. She took a shower and got into a change of clothes. There was no TV, no room service, not even a telephone inside the room. But there was a questionable stain on the wall next the bed, but that was something Ava would rather not dwell on. She laid flat on her bed and she stared at the ceiling, examining all of the patterns.

Just then, there was a light rapping on her door. She got up and when looking through the peephole, saw that it was Steve. Ava opened the door and greeted Steve with a warm hug. They broke apart and Steve noted that Ava was still wearing his necklace.

"I'm surprised you haven't broken it or lost it by now." He said.

"I am too." She laughed.

"You ready to get out of here?"

"Oh, very. Where are we heading to next?"

They've done three rescue ops since Colombia. Every now and then, solo or duo missions are carried out.

Steve had been watching how Ava and Peter acted around each other, both in and out of the field. In between the missions, they keep their distance (although Peter always gives Ava furtive glances). They have very little interaction unless necessary. No one ever addresses their strained relationship, but then again, it never gets in the way of their work. During the missions, however, they worked together beautifully. They watched each other's backs, and they knew how to improvise if plans didn't work out accordingly. Sometimes, they would try to overpower each other in taking down more threats (Ava usually won at this little competition).

So to Ava's annoyance, Steve decided to send her and Peter to Russia to infiltrate a small outpost of thugs that had been known to smuggle in mutants to try weaponize them for their gangs. Ava put on a poker face, while Peter looked like a deer caught in headlights. Nat found this amusing, because as confident as Steve felt about this decision, he must know how this could fail just as easily as this could succeed. 50/50 odds are never great odds, but Steve has taken greater chances.

Peter tried his best to remain cool, not trying to act antsy or nervous. He, more than anyone, wanted this to not turn into a shit show. Maybe, if this mission went well, they would be a step closer to being well too.

Ava and Peter flew in riding coach with no issues or complications. To the world, Peter Parker was a nobody traveling the world. Ava on the other hand, had a disguise.

The hotel they were staying at had given away the rooms that Natasha had requested over the phone, since "you came too late and other buyer's already here.". Bastards. So in her broken Russian, Ava managed to secure a single room, which had only one bed. Natasha had been teaching Ava Russian along with helping her refine her French. Pretty soon, Nat said that she'll start teaching her Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic since those were the most commonly spoken languages in the world.

Their mission didn't start until late into the night, so Peter thought this alone time could be a good time for him to take another chance at a small step.

"Go Fish?" Peter asked sheepishly, revealing a deck of cards from his bag.

Ava let out a breathy laugh, putting on her sweater to counteract the chill in the room. She shrugged, a faint smile on her lips. She was starting to warm up to Peter, slowly.

So they played Go Fish, as the hours passed sluggishly by. They ate whatever snacks they had left from the plane ride. And there was actually some laughs for the first time in a long while. This surprised Peter, because before today he was only met with short replies.

Ava herself couldn't describe what was happening here either. It wasn't anything serious. Nothing was being committed. This just took her back to those rooftop nights. Took her back to the memories of staying up late trying to finish up homework, but ending up going over to Peter's and watching what little stars could be picked out. Or what planet was shining so brightly at their closest distance to the Earth. Ava missed those kind of nights.

"I win!" Peter cackles.

Ava looked to the time and saw that it was almost time to leave. "We should suit up." She grabbed her suit and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Peter was in blue jeans and a black hoodie along with his web shooters firmly secured on his wrists. His mask was sticking out of his pocket.

"Let's go." She chuckles, hating this idiot for not thinking to get a new costume.

They go out through the fire escape and make their way without being noticed to their car. Ava drives towards the edge of the small town, out towards to where the smugglers were. Ava couldn't wait to put her fist to their faces.

An hour later, Ava turned onto a dirt road. In the distance she could see the checkpoint. There was heavy security, but it wasn't anything that she or Peter couldn't handle. Peter put on his Spidey mask and drew his hoodie up.

Ava pulls up, the one guard manning the entrance and the five others blocking the entrance all stood a little stiffer, held their guns a little tighter.

"Zdravstvuj." Ava greets the man at the post. Before the man could get a word out, Spider-Man shot a web that consumed his face and Mercury swung the door out at the guard so hard that he fell back into the small checkpoint building.

Spider-Man jumped out of the car, the other five guards starting rain bullets down on him. Mercury stopped all the bullets in their paths, hanging in the air. The guards didn't stop though, they kept firing like idiots. Seizing the moment, he jumped up high in the air and then landed on one of the men, trapping him down to the ground using his webbing. Mercury dropped the bullets and they fell to the dirt, sounding like heavy rainfall. She sped up to the four and broke all of their guns.

As they were slowly turning towards Spider-Man, him too suspended in time, one guard had his fist raised and Ava turned it towards one of the other guards. She then tied the shoelaces of two others together. Ava stopped moving and it all happened at once.

The man at the post was grunting and yelling out muffled curse words as he struggled to get off the webbing, the two men tripped and fell over each other, the one guard knocked out the other. Spider-Man then knocked out that guard and webbed down the two tied together.

He dropped the hood and looked over at Ava with those large, white lens. "That was easy." And then webbed the blinded guard down to the post by his hand.

They walked down the rest of the road towards the small building. Steve had said that there wouldn't be any powered kids here, just the main boss who was in between bases. If Peter and Ava took the boss down, it would shut down the whole operation. This boss, her alias Raven, was also the money behind the operation. She ran everything by herself, originally from the U.S. and went to Russia to do her remote business dealings with various gangs. If she wasn't so evil, Ava would applaud such a powerful businesswoman. But Ms. Raven would be getting shut down tonight.

There was no doubting that she and her two guards that never leave her side had heard the gunshots. She knew that she was in trouble. That her way of living was being threatened. But she didn't what was coming.

The building was all concrete and only about 30 x 30 ft. They walked up to the door and before Mercury could open it, Spider-Man had tackled her to the ground. Immediately after were rapid fire gunshots.

From the floor, Mercury halted all of the bullets and melded them into one large ball and sent it flying in the direction it came from. She knew it met its mark when a man started screaming out in uncontrollable pain.

Then, they heard a car start. A big black SUV pulled around the corner and tried to race down the dirt path, away from the threat of Mercury. But they didn't know what she could do. With little to no effort, Mercury stopped the car, even as the remaining guard trying to protect Raven pushed down on the gas pedal.

Ava had grown stronger in the passing months. With thanks to the training of two of the strongest women she's ever met, Ava's powers have grown. She could handle more weight, she could control multiple things with less of a strain. She's still learning, still growing, but it was amazing how much she has already accomplished, and amazing how easily it's all been.

Spider-Man opened the driver door and knocked out the guard by hitting his head against the wheel, and then pulling him out of the car. Mercury turned off the car with a flick of her wrist.

"Hey, miss. You're going to prison for a very long time." Spider-Man said cheerily. "Oh no." He quickly said. Raven was in the back seat, and starting firing rounds at Spidey. He quickly dodged them with ease, and managed to get the gun out of her hand in the cramped space of the car.

Mercury opened the door and turned her arm band into liquid. She sent it towards Raven and then had it solidify to bound her wrists. There was no way she was getting out now. She stalked forward as the once powerful woman now looked terrified.

Raven had jet black hair and pale skin. This made her baby blue eyes all the more bright and piercing. But there was nothing menacing behind them right now. Just scared. Ava liked that. Ava wanted her to feel scared. To feel _something_ for what she has done to those poor kids.

"I'm gonna remember your face, bitch." Raven spat out, trying to save face.

"Good." Ava smirked, punching her the face with her bare hands. Raven fell towards the floor with a hard thud and scraping her face bad against the pebbles and dirt. Ava took back her vibranium and settled it back on her arm.

"You can be scary sometimes." Peter commented, picking up Raven and hauling her over his shoulder.

"Thanks."

The pair had delivered Raven to Storm. She would take her to the States where she could be tried for her crimes. Despite the Sokovia Accords, the government still tried criminals like that scum. She would be sent to the same prison that Ava was once in. Because Peter had sent her there.

Sometimes she would think about that day and it would send her into a sour mood all over again. But surprisingly, she didn't feel as much anger as before. As much.

The ride back was still a little awkward because Ava went back to giving only terse responses until Peter got the hint and stopped trying to talk to her. When they got to their hotel room, Ava immediately went into the bathroom and took a shower to get some space. The temperature setting was stuck on freezing, but she still stayed in there for twenty minutes.

When she finally did get out, everything she did was laborious. She wanted her mind to remain as clear as possible. Peter is really trying, she knows that. And maybe Ava has to start trying too.

Ava came out of the bathroom, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. She found Peter on the floor, snoring loudly. He had a pillow and a thin sheet that didn't offer much warmth. She wasn't ready for sleep yet, so she did things to keep herself occupied. Their clothes were strewn all over the floor, so she picked them up without disturbing Peter and folded them nicely into their respective bags. The lock was faulty and so she spent over an hour fixing it, trying to understand the mechanism using her powers–which took a lot of concentration–but it gave her the greatest sense of satisfaction when she was able to fix it.

At one point during the night, Peter woke up. He looked around the room, saw how immaculate everything was. Ava was now reading a book at the small plastic table at this point. It was the story of a teenage girl who didn't have a voice and had to try to navigate high school without it, with a dark history trailing her everywhere she went. Ava didn't have books, but whenever they stopped by a bookshop, she would find something to hold onto for a little bit to help pass the time before ditching it. She always tried to travel as lightly as possible.

"Not tired?" Peter asked, stretching his body.

"Nope." She responded, punctuating on the "P." Her eyes didn't lift from the pages in front her, fully enraptured towards the book.

"Floor comfy?" She asked after a few pregnant pauses.

"Very." Peter yawned, pulling the sheet around his shoulders as he sat up. He leaned against the bed, and rested his head against it, staring up at the ceiling with the peeling paint. Not even five minutes later, Peter fell asleep again, still in that same position.

His mouth hung open so wide that all sorts of insects could fly in and make a town, so to speak.

The following morning, they left and flew to Paris. They stayed in what used to be Ava's old studio apartment, now transformed as a hideout for the team. Ava and Peter didn't know what Nat and Steve's mission was about, just that they would meet here in two days. That meant two days being stuck with the wall crawler. Well, technically, she didn't have to be. Paris was once a sort-of home for her, she could just leave him here and go explore the city all over again.

Being back in the studio felt strange– especially since Nat didn't change anything– so to have Peter here in a world that was once so separated from him, didn't exactly feel right to Ava. The small abode felt even more small now.

"You really lived here?" He asked, peering around the single space. The only separated area from here was the bathroom, at least there's some sort of privacy that could be lent here. He looked through Ava's stack of books next to her old bed and noticed a worn and dog eared copy of _Cosmos_. He knows that this isn't the same copy that Ava had back in New York, because that copy has been collecting dust in the station when Ava was camped there for a short while before joining SHIELD.

Ava always had a deep connection with the Sagan book. She had first read it in the eighth grade, and it had become a comfort read for her ever since. Whenever she felt lonely, bored, upset, she would pick up _Cosmos_. And she wouldn't always start it from the beginning. She has read the book so many times that she knows it from cover to cover. So sometimes she just opens the book at a random chapter and starts reading. One of her favorite sections from the book is the part about the Library of Alexandria. The beauty of all people coming together for the sake of knowledge, for the advancement of humanity. While it's not known what (or who) exactly destroyed the beautiful building, it taught Ava early on that the public did not like it when something or someone was different. No one likes it when their state of being is questioned, so they'll do whatever they can to return to their normalcy. Ava was guilty of this when she didn't accept herself.

"Yup. It didn't last, though." She sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Did you ever think that it might have?" Peter asked, looking back to meet with Ava's eyes.

This gave Ava pause. It's not that she always expected to leave every country she stepped foot in, she just had to keep moving. So, it's not that she expected Paris to be temporary, she didn't expect Germany or Iceland to be temporary either. But a part of her had known that they all would be.

"I don't know." She replied. She didn't want to dwell on the idea of settling down any further, so instead she threw on a thick red sweater and said, "I'll be back in an hour" and left the apartment.

She walked all the way to the store, which wasn't that far, and purchased several blow up mattresses with money that she had in her bag. Ava always had the currency for every country she visited and would visit. She wasn't exactly sure how Nat and Steve got ahold of the things they provided, but she didn't bother questioning it either.

She lugged back the three boxes with no problem. This would have made Ava slightly strain before she got her abilities. She was never the athletic type, before. She technically still isn't now, but she has the body for it, like Serena Williams.

When she made it back, she knocked on the door and was met with the most annoying response: "What's the secret password?"

Ava rolled her eyes in response. Instead of entertaining Peter with a response, Ava turned the mechanisms in the lock and unbolted the door using her abilities. The boy staggered back with mock surprise. "Intruder!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up." Ava huffed, tossing the bags on the floor. She manually closed and locked the door in case someone was outside about to turn a corner in the hallway of the complex. "I got blow up mattresses. So, you know, you don't have to sleep on the floor again."

"So sweet." Peter smiled, batting his eyelashes obnoxiously. Sometimes, he could be so insufferable. Now, she completely understood why his comments would make villains even more upset when he fought them.

"So, while you were gone," Peter started, motioning towards the small table that had a plastic bag full of food. "I got some food."

"How did you manage to get food?" Ava asked, inspecting the bag. There were ingredients for spaghetti, some apples and bananas, a gallon of water and liter of Coke, and then random snacks that Ava knew Peter just tossed into the cart simply out of impulse. Ava took a Carambar and started chewing on the taffy-like candy.

"I said oui and d'accord to every question asked to me." He smiled, looking pretty proud with himself.

Ava giggled, trying to imagine a lady ask Peter if he could step aside and responding back "Okay" without moving an inch much to the annoyance and confusion of the lady just trying to get some groceries.

"So you're making spaghetti?" Ava questioned, picking up the bag of noodles. "I don't even know if I have any pans and pots."

"You didn't." Peter responded. He stepped over to the quaint kitchen and pulled out of the cabinet a pan. "But I got some at the store."

"Wow." She couldn't understand why he was going through so much effort when they would only be staying here a few nights before going who knows where, but she didn't bother dwelling on it.

Peter made the food. It's well-known between the two that Ava doesn't cook and it's best kept that way. It didn't take long, simple spaghetti isn't hard to do, but the time did seem to stretch by. She watched him cook the meat almost apprehensively, afraid of the popping oil. The way he looked so proud when he mixed the sauce and noodles because it actually turned out good. His curly hair a mess on top of his head as he frequently brushed his fingers through it. Ava had started to feel almost tranquil around Peter again, just for a moment. But then a sharp pain would attack her head as she remembered Spider-Man standing above her as she lost consciousness before being captured.

"Tada!" He sang, presenting a plate of spaghetti and sausage along with a tall glass of Coke with a flourish. Ava accepted the food with a thank you and started eating. It was truly delicious. Thankfully, there was _a lot_ of spaghetti because the both of them eat a lot. Although if put in a competition, Ava would undoubtedly win.

The night blanketed over the city, street lights and store fronts blinking on. Ava did the dishes laboriously. She wanted to take her time. Wet, foam, dry, put away. It was like every silverware, every plate, every cup had a purpose.

Ava learned in elementary school that when lightning strikes on sand, a beautiful art of glass can be created. The conditions and chemical makeup of the sand has to be perfect for the storm, and when it strikes, it shoots down into the sand and creates a glass tube. She wondered to herself if Storm could make cups out of lightning and sand.

After she was done with that, Ava changed into her pajamas and set up one of the blow-up mattresses for Peter. The man on the other hand, was hanging upside down in the corner of the room reading one of Ava's books. Ava recognized it to be a Spinelli book based off of the cover. The cover had a doodle of a yellow star and green girl.

They didn't speak for the rest of the night, but it didn't feel tense at the moment. It just felt like the two were existing in their own ways, in the same space. Coexisting. Ava left the light on for Peter to continue reading and she went straight to bed, falling asleep as quickly as her body made contact with her old bed.

A few hours later, he got himself down from the ceiling and got dressed. As quietly as he could, he went out the window that was in the kitchen and climbed up to the roof.

It made the news that Spider-Man was spotted in Paris. The pictures and videos were all grainy and blurry, so some people had been calling it a hoax, while others are saying this is further proof that Spider-Man is working with Captain America. Ava awoke to this confused. In the bed over was a snoring Peter Parker. Did this mean he snuck out in the middle of the night and patrolled Paris? Can't take the neighborhood out of the spider, she figured.

Ava showered and got dressed and left the apartment with a sleeping Parker still occupying it. She spent practically the whole day outside. It wasn't smart to do this, but then again, Ava changed her look so often and hasn't been noticed by the public yet, that she felt confident. If one were to take a picture of her now and compare it to before she left New York, it would be a completely different woman.

Ava walked down neighborhoods and little shops and jewelry stores. Just to admire the scene around her. Just to take in Paris again. She even walked down to the antique store she used to work at. Emile was still there.

When she stepped inside the store, his small, leathered face lit up with a bright smile.

"Avery! Ça fait longtemps!" He exclaimed. He got out of his chair from behind the counter to greet Ava in a warm embrace. In every passport, Ava had a different name. For her French one, her name was Emily Van Heusen. But she didn't conceal her name from Emile. She didn't know what made her trust the elderly man, she just did.

He brought out a steaming cup of coffee for Ava and the two sat down, making small talk. He didn't ask why she didn't show up for work and disappeared off the face of the Earth. He just talked about new items he has acquired and showed her all of them. He talked about the changing seasons and his grandchildren. He asked her if she had been well, if she had traveled to new places. She said how she had been to America, and to South America, and how she just came back from Russia. She told him how traveling wasn't good for her sleep, but it was good for her soul.

She left the little shop shortly after, with a parting gift from Emile. He gave her a small glass figurine of a butterfly. She held it gently in her hand, afraid if she gripped it too tightly, that it would shatter.

When she made it back to the apartment, it was a full house. Peter was awake and talking animatedly to Steve, Nat, and Sam Wilson. She hasn't seen Sam Wilson since they all parted ways. Ava vaguely remembers Nat telling her when she lived back in Iceland that Sam was going undercover to take down a huge gang. She greeted the man with a hug and back pats.

"Where'd you go?" Peter asked, all of the attention now on the blonde haired woman.

"Went to go visit an old friend." She responded, not explaining any further.

They all fell into a light chatter, catching up on the past few days. Steve and Sam were going to do a mission tonight in Russia. Since Peter and Ava took down Raven, Steve and Sam were going to take down smaller factions of her operations and gang bosses she worked with. It could take up to a week. Natasha would go to check in on Wanda tonight and Peter would do his first solo mission tonight in Paris while Ava stayed in the apartment and operated as his Q. Like old times.

Steve and Sam left, and then shortly after Natasha did too. Now it was just Ava and Peter again. They spent the better part of the day going over the mission and setting up the monitors and computer and hot spots. Ava learned how to scramble the signal so that no one could ever trace her location, and built up firewalls.

"You've really upped your game." Peter complimented, blown away by her skills.

"Thanks. I knew a pretty badass hacker." She smirked, blushing slightly at the compliment.

Night came and Peter suited up.

Suddenly, Ava felt nervous for the first time. Peter was going in alone. Ava doubled as his backup, she could speed to the scene, but not until there was already trouble. Ava wouldn't be there to see or anticipate problems. He had his senses sure, but what if he was overpowered?

As he was walking out towards the fire escape, Ava reached out and held his arm. "Hey Peter?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked at the warm hand that gripped his arm.

"Don't get too cocky." She said. He knew she meant "Please be careful."

"I'll try." He grinned before his mask on and going out into the night.


	24. Chapter 24

Ava heard the bullets. Then she heard the cry of pain.

She had been paying rapt attention to the monitors, and everything was going smoothly. He made it to the location. He made it inside quietly. There were two guards, in Ava's intel there was supposed to be a total of only four. Spider-Man made his silly quips and grabbed their attention. He subdued the two easily. And then the other two. But then Ava heard even more commotion through the comms. She heard him say that he's ambushed. She heard punches and webs being thrown. Then heard gunshots. And in that chaos, one sound broke through clearly. Peter's scream.

Avery was in a state of mind she had never been in before. Without any thought, she got up from the chair, vibrating so quickly as she broke into the fastest run. Out the door, splintering it open and creating a sonic boom as everything blew against the wall. Ava didn't process that she began phasing through buildings. She didn't care if she broke them and left a path of destruction. But she wasn't. She was phasing through everything. She pushed herself a little faster and not even a second later, she was inside the building.

There were a dozen guards surrounding Spider-Man. He seemed frozen mid-scream and his hand not yet reaching to his gut to feel the wound, to confirm that it's real. There was a shower of bullets directed towards Peter. Ava stepped in front of Peter and put her arms out, directing the bullets right back to the guards. She had them hit the kneecaps, immobilizing them. Making them feel the pain. Then, she took out their guns. Release the clip, empty the chamber, crush the metal.

She then searched the whole building. There were no mutants in sight. It was a trick. Ava raced back down and grabbed Peter, who was confused as to what was happening. She took him back to the apartment. There were people crowded outside of it, and Ava realized the destruction that she left. She went around a corner and left Peter there.

"Stay here." She ordered, and sped back to the apartment.

"Where else would I go?" He said to an empty alleyway, out of breath.

Ava sped into the room, destroyed all of the computers using her abilities. She grabbed their backpacks that contained their runaway lives, and she bolted out.

When Peter had asked Ava if she ever thought Paris could become a real home for her, she said that she didn't know. And she didn't. But in that moment, she realized that an old part of her had wished it could have.

Peter's blood was pooling around his body. A cold panic began to run up Ava's spine and solid fear to weigh in her gut. She doesn't know what to do. What can she do? He's losing blood. Ava doesn't know how to treat wounds like this. She had been taught basic things, not life-saving operations. She started hearing voices and quick footsteps. They would be made soon if they stayed a moment longer.

"Here." Ava whispered, putting on Peter a jacket to conceal some of his suit, a backpack, and a bag while she slung on a backpack herself. She then lifted him up, much to his pain, and she sped off. There was another hideout. In her overpowering panic, she took him there.

It was on a dark and empty street, away from the bustling city life. A house. It was a bit rundown, nothing fancy or elegant. Then again, every place that the team stayed at was never exactly the Ritz. She unlocked the door by shifting the locks with her abilities, stepped inside and swung the door shut and locked it with just a mental jab. She brought him over to the dusty couch and carefully set him down.

Peter took off his mask, revealing a shiner on his left eye. "You have to call Cap."

"Peter, he's in a different country. We have to get you to a hospital." She said, grabbing towels from the linen closet and kneeling down to Peter's level. "I'm sorry." She pressed the towel down and he bit his tongue a little too hard as it started to bleed.

"I think I'm gonna throw up." He claimed. From the combined nausea of being shot and traveling with Ava, it sent his mind and bowels swirling. Not a moment later, he bent his head towards the floor and threw up. Ava used another towel to wipe the vomit around his lips.

"We got to get you out of the suit." Ava stated, not listening to the protestations of Peter.

"Avery, we can't go to a hospital. You'll be made." He refused, trying to sit up. He held the towel and kept it pressed against the wound, staunching the blood.

Ava looked through Peter's bag and grabbed a shirt and jeans. There were no shoes, they were in the apartment. He could survive going barefoot.

"Peter, come on." Ava begged. He still wouldn't move.

On his suit is the famous spider emblazoned on his chest. It's not just an ornament, however. It also doubles as a way for Peter to easily put on his suit. When he puts it on it seems baggy, but when he taps on the spider (coded to only his access), the suit forms around his body. So, Ava forcefully grabbed Peter's hand and shoved it against the spider. Peter is typically the stronger of the two, but given his poor state, Ava took advantage of this.

Ava took the shoulders of the suit and brought them down to reveal his torso. There was so much blood, it was hard to see the actual wound itself. But Ava could sense that the bullet was still inside him. That made her even more uneasy. The blood started gushing out again once the pressure of the towel was removed. Ava removed Peter's gloves, which were soaked with blood as well and it stained her hands. She put on his shirt and then as she was going to continue removing the suit, Peter stopped her.

"I think I can take it from here." He said, slightly blushing.

"Oh, get over yourself." Ava rolled her eyes, but relented. She took over keeping pressure on his wound as he took off the suit and his boots and put on the jeans.

"Can we not speed again?" Peter groaned, trying to stand on his own. The bleeding has started to slow down. Ava wasn't sure how Peter's healing capabilities worked, how far it goes. Much could be said for Ava. Minor things, like cuts, bruises, even a splinter small break in a bone, can heal overnight. But what about more fatal injuries?

"Yeah." She chuckled, helping Peter up. He leaned against her as they walked out onto the street. They had no car, so Ava borrowed one from a neighbor.

She started it up with some difficulty, with Peter yammering in her ear on what to do. She drove them to the nearest hospital and prayed for the best.

Steve, Nat, and Sam made it back in the early morning to the new safe spot. Ava was there, wide awake and pacing.

She left Peter at the hospital's emergency room and left. She didn't want to risk exposure, despite how badly she wanted to stay by his side. Ava drove back in the car and returned it to the spot it was in on her street. She sped back inside the safe house and sent a message out to Steve. He had given her a pager, which Ava found extremely amusing. It didn't take long for Steve to send a message back.

"What happened?" Nat asked, keeping an arm's length distance from an obviously stressed out Ava. Nat didn't want to poke the bear.

"I don't know. It was a trap." Ava said shakily. "Oh god, his screams."

Nat and Steve shared a concerned look.

Ava sat down on the couch, next to the dried up blood, cracking and nearly black. She put her head in her hands and prayed. She wasn't sure who or what she was praying to, just to be heard. To have Peter be okay. He has to be okay.

"I can go." Ava heard Nat say, but she sounded distant.

Back when Peter and Ava were still best friends, they would often coexist. Cohabitate. It didn't matter if no words were uttered for hours on end, they still felt like they were bonding. Ava would play video games while Peter would study for the next morning's exam. Peter would watch the newest episode of the latest show while Ava would take a nap. When they were at the station, Peter would work on his suit and Ava would search through databases on Terrigenesis. She missed being with her best friend, she felt a deep ache and something clawing at the inside of her stomach. She continued to pray, thoughts floating out into the universe.

Hours dragged by and Nat sent a message to Steve that Peter was in surgery. She pretended to be Peter's mom, and would update them soon on when he would get out of it. This news did nothing to help ease Ava. What if he died right there on the table? What if he lost too much blood, and there's not enough transfusions in the world to save him? Ava refused to eat or sleep. She just stayed in the same spot on the couch and bent her head in silent prayer.

"I didn't know you were religious." Steve said. He sat next to her, but making sure she still had her space.

"I'm not." She whispered. Steve nodded.

"My parents were Catholic. We would all go to church every Sunday…and I would hate it." He chuckled to himself. "I could never sit still. After my parents died, I hadn't stepped foot in a church until I woke up from the ice.

"Waking up in a new world, it was definitely a lot to take in. Almost everything had changed, I didn't understand all this new technology–still entirely don't–and the only thing that felt familiar was church, I didn't care if it was a Catholic one or not. God hadn't changed.

"You may not be praying to my God or any right now, but if that's alright with you, I'd like to pray to Him for you."

Ava merely nodded, unable to speak. This was so moving and kind, it brought Ava to tears. The stress of whether Peter would make it brought her to tears, the kindness of Steve Rogers brought her to tears.

Steve bent his head and closed his eyes, making a spiritual connection to a higher being up in the stars. Ava could never know that feeling, but she felt the universe in all of its chaos and uniformity, and wasn't that essentially the same thing? Connecting, feeling her soul warm and feeling the energy of everyone and everything around her? Despite the two's different beliefs, they were both connecting just the same.

Peter pulled through. He survived. And Nat was bringing him back to the hideout.

Steve helped Ava dye her hair brown, back to the natural color she once used to keep so long ago. Steve also cut Ava's hair for her. What was once shoulder-length, was now barely an inch. The length was more of a personal choice for Ava.

Hours passed and it was almost nighttime. Suddenly, Ava heard the locks unlatch and the door creak as it opened to reveal Natasha and known other Peter Parker. He looked tired, but alive. His wound healed exceptionally fast, and he walked with no assistance needed. Ava's breath got caught in her throat and she wanted to bolt to him.

"We need to go now, we might have been made." Nat said, heading back outside.

Ava made a motion to speak, but held herself back. Now was the time to move. In the flash of a second, she gathered her single pack and everyone else's.

"In another life, you run the greatest cleaning service company." Sam joked, picking up his bag from the couch and heading out the door.

Steve quietly picked up his own pack, giving Peter and Ava a glance before heading out the door himself. It was his way of saying they had only a moment alone before they had get out of there.

"I-I stitched up your suit." Ava said, indicating Peter's pack. "Not very well, but I did."

Peter smiled. He crossed the room in three strides and then tightly embraced Ava. She held on just as tight, if not tighter. She never knew she could miss his warmth, his smell, and his smile.

"Let's go!" Natasha yelled from outside.

They let go of each other and Peter walked ahead, nearly bouncing out of the door. Ava slung her pack over her shoulder and shut off all of the lights. As she walked down the porch steps, she closed and locked the door with a flick of her wrist.

They all got in two separate cars. Steve drove with Sam and Peter in one car, while Nat drove with Ava in the other. They both took separate and complicated routes that eventually led them to the same destination. This was done to at least for some time, keep one car off the scent of a follower while the other car had the task of losing the follower or taking a more direct approach if they couldn't be shaken.

"Are we being followed?" Ava asked.

"No, I lost them before I got to the hideout. But we must-"

"Must always stay two steps ahead." Ava recited.

"Exactly." Nat said.

They remained in silence during the rest of the ride, Natasha taking side streets and every now and then taking a busy road before getting back on a side street. Ava continued to look around, trying to find a problem. She stressed that it was someone sent to finish off Peter. She knew now that they had known all along that Peter was in the hospital. They waited until he was released in order to kill someplace where no camera or witness could stop them. Natasha is good at her job, the best of the best. But what if they were better?

Two hours later and they made it out a remote area deep in the woods were they had stashed the quinjet. The two groups both arrived at the same time and quickly filed into the jet. Sam and Nat manned the cockpit, while everyone else strapped in for takeoff.

Ava sat down opposite of Peter, the two staring at each other the whole ten minutes it took to check the flight systems and to lift up into the air. They were taking each other in, a thousand thoughts racing a minute. Ava was struggling with how to process all of the thoughts she was having, especially the more dangerous ones. She wished to know what Peter was thinking. She broke away eye contact and stared down at her fingers.

Once they were in the air for thirty minutes, Steve unbuckled himself and headed towards the cockpit. There was a tension growing in the room that he didn't want to stay in for any longer.

Ava heard Peter unbuckle himself and she heard his footsteps as he walked over and felt his presence in the seat next to her. She finally looked up at his face, taking him in. He looked apprehensive, licking his lips. He did that before he would say something risky.

"Avery…I'm so sorry." Peter said. Ava had heard this a thousand times before, but this apology was different from all of the rest. It's not that the sincerity was lacking before, he was genuine with every apology. It's just that this apology carried the weight of their friendship, it carried the weight of their history. It carried the weight of Peter nearly dying.

Ava didn't say anything. She forgave him. Finally. And then she kissed him. She leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled away, she felt dizzy, like she was drunk. Peter's eyes were still closed, brows furrowed in a confusion. Did that really just happen?

Ava cleared her throat and looked straight ahead, squaring her shoulders. "It's okay." She said. Peter opened his eyes, and saw Avery and how strong she looked, resilient and unrelenting. He stared straight ahead as well, a big grin plastered on his face.


	25. Chapter 25

It was time for the group to separate indefinitely. Ava was hell bent on tracking down whoever ordered that strike and Peter wasn't going to let her go after them alone. Steve and the rest had to focus on other issues, other countless missions.

"If you ever need to reach us." Steve handed Ava a flip phone with a single number saved. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fought to keep them from spilling over. She didn't expect to get this emotional about it.

"I'll miss you guys!" Peter exclaimed, throwing his arms around those closest to him, Steve and Natasha. "C'mere Sam."

Sam shook his head, grinning. He shook Peter's head while still maintaining a distance. Natasha seemed physically uncomfortable, but Ava could see in her eyes that she would miss them too. Deep in her eyes if one looked past the annoyance. Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but that quickly subsided as he returned the embrace.

Once they broke apart, they waved one final time to the two misfits and they walked off towards the quinjet. Moments later, they were airborne. Peter and Ava were now alone in the quiet of the Fontainebleau forests. The moonlight illuminated the branches and large shadows loomed over the pair. It definitely was an eerie sight, but Ava found more beauty and comfort in her surroundings rather than apprehension.

"So walking or running?" Ava asked Peter.

"Walking. Definitely walking." Peter replied, already starting to walk east. The wrong direction.

"Wrong way." Ava announced, pointing north.

"I knew that." He scoffed, correcting his course.

The two had not talked about what happened the other day in the quinjet when they were leaving Paris. When they landed somewhere on a countryside someplace else in France, Peter and Ava didn't even talk to each other. Every time Peter looked over to Ava, his cheeks and neck would start to color. So Ava maintained her distance to save him the embarrassment.

Natasha had kept the jet's cloaking on. They wouldn't sleep in proper beds that night, but instead in the quinjet to come up with a course of action. Sam and Natasha were asleep, but Steve, Ava, and Peter remained awake.

"You guys should try to get some shut eye." Steve said.

"I don't think I could even if I tried. I haven't been sleeping well." Peter responded, sitting up from his sleeping bag.

Ava didn't respond right away. Her mind was racing with thoughts, no, the same thought. Rolling and bouncing and swimming in her mind. "I have to stay."

The two men turned their heads towards the speedster.

"Whoever attacked you can't get away with this." Ava said, staring Peter in the eyes, the first direct thing she's said to him since forgiving him. "And they won't stop. They'll keep following us until they get you for some reason."

"I agree." Peter nods, looking back to Steve. "Let this be our mission. We can do this together."

Steve looked at both of them, seeing their resolve. He knew that it didn't matter whether they had his approval or not, they were going to go through with it anyways. It's what he appreciated about the pair, they always followed their gut, even if it put them at odds at times.

The following morning Natasha moved them to another area that was less than fifty miles away. Steve informed the team what the next course of action would be. Nat didn't seem to be on board with Ava and Peter breaking off, but she didn't voice this.

All Peter and Ava have talked about since is their planning, anything but that kiss. It weighed heavily on both of them, a thick tension that neither one dared to cut through. As they made it through the woods, it was already an hour later and they still had a long way to go. Ava started eating some of her special energy bars. Whether Peter liked it or not, the hiking was taking too long and Ava did not want to get exhausted and stop to camp out. She would rather speed to their new hideout, and tire out there where she can sleep on a real bed.

"Alright, come on Pete. It's already midnight we won't get out of here until next week at the pace we're going." Ava sighed.

"That's pretty dramatic." Peter replied.

"You can hate me later." Ava said. As Peter whipped his head around, a murderous look on his face, Ava was kneeling down and making sure her shoes were laced tightly but not too tight.

"Oh, _hell n_ -" Peter started, but didn't get a chance to finish. Ava picked him up, making sure not to move too fast that his body would break at the impact. Ava had studied the route multiple times the past hour, knowing immediately where to go once they got out of the woods. And while Ava can now say with confidence that she is a trained spy, she didn't want to up the risk of being caught if they took their time getting to the hideout.

This particular hideout was actually similar to the apartment that Ava was once partially attached to, but it was on the other side of the city, forty minutes or so away.

As soon as Ava stopped, Peter collapsed down to the floor.

"Now that's pretty dramatic." She teased, fishing out the key from her bag. She opened the door and stepped over his body into the room.

"Fuck." He groaned, getting up from the floor and closing the door behind him. He remained in that spot, slouching against the door.

This place seemed to be more run down than the last apartment, if possible. But it was a much bigger space with multiple rooms instead of a studio, and Ava was grateful for that. There was a small living room that was furnished with a dusty couch and square TV. To the left was the hallway, with the first and third door being the two bedrooms and the second door leading to a shared bathroom. The very end of the hallway lead to the bleak kitchen that had a small fridge, a stovetop and oven, a tiny counter that housed the sink, and a table for one. The laundry room was to the right upon entrance, separated from the room by a folding door. This is where the pair would be staying for an indefinite amount of time.

Peter plopped down on to the couch, dust particles jumping up and cascading around him. He sneezed three consecutive times.

"When will we stay at a Holiday Inn? Is that too much to ask?" Peter asked, mostly rhetorically, but Ava still responded.

"Actually, it is."

She walked the down the hallway and picked the first bedroom. Inside there was a twin bed and a nightstand that had a lamp on top of it. The light was dim, only casting a glow on the whole room. "Home, sweet, home." She joked.

She got under the coarse wool blanket, throwing the pillow on the floor. She felt that pillows were always best on the floor–Ava could never sleep with her head resting on a pillow, especially the fluffed up ones. The blanket gave immense warmth, which was important during these cold, winter nights. Not too long after, she fell asleep, with the dim light of the lamp still on. Some time later, Peter would peer into the room and switch off the lamp for Ava before he retired to his new bedroom, fashioned similarly to Ava's.

At the crack of dawn, Ava was wide awake. She took a shower, went out for groceries at a market where the vendors were still in the process of setting up shop, made herself breakfast (it was an over easy egg on toast and an orange as a snack), and set up two computers in the living room to start searches on Peter's assailants. All of this before Peter himself woke up.

Ava was munching on one of her bars, which where going to run low soon, as she watched over the monitors. Fitz and Simmons had made a huge supply for Ava and they have lasted all of this time, but Ava had probably two months before they would be all gone. She had successfully hacked into the CCTV's, which wasn't that hard to do, and she kept watch over certain areas. One camera that Ava didn't change was the one on the street corner of their new hideout, but all the rest she would occasionally switch out to different interest spots. Natasha had given her a flash drive that had programs built by the spy, which Ava activated in order to have facial recognition on every person that came into view. If any had high criminal activity, Ava would know. Her heavy rotation of monitoring was the old apartment, the hospital that Peter stayed at, and the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Nothing irregular has popped up yet.

"Good morning." Peter said in a slightly scratchy voice.

"Good afternoon." Ava replied, merely glancing over at the disheveled and somehow still sleepy man.

Peter grunted back in response, disappearing back into the hallway. Ava continued her work, unbothered by the webhead. A few minutes pass and he comes back out again.

"Be back in a few!" He calls over shoulder, not giving Ava a chance to protest as he slams the door shut behind him.

"God damn it!" Ava huffed, typing in commands to change the monitors. She watched as Peter walked the street, hands in his pockets as he seemed to be whistling. Three blocks later and right when Peter was rounding a street full of boutiques, He looked up at one of the security cameras, winked, and whipped out his phone, tapping on it. The screen instantly went static. All the security cameras on that street went dark. Ava truly was confused and annoyed. Whatever he was doing, he seemed to have forgotten that he was once ambushed and nearly died.

A few minutes later and the cameras returned to normal and Ava could see Peter again, walking back towards the apartment. The whole time he had a stupid smile on his face, practically skipping with every step. When Peter walked through the entrance to the studio complex, Ava switched all of the monitors back to the original cameras. Even though Peter knew that she was spying on him, she still didn't want to give him the proof.

Ava heard the locks switch and Peter was walking through the door, hiding something behind his back. Ava arched an eyebrow, growing more perplexed by the second.

"Why are you so weird?" Ava asked him, partly wanting a real response. "Also," She began, getting up from the couch, "You shouldn't be out wandering the same streets that murderous spies are also wandering so out in the open!"

"Relax, I took the right precautions and varied my routes. Geesh, old age has made you extra cranky." Peter then revealed a small box that had a red bow on top. "Happy birthday, Avery." His brown eyes were bright and beaming as he waited for Ava to accept the gift. She didn't even realize it was her birthday. Today is the day that she's now 20 years old. It also marked nearly two years of having her abilities, nearly two years since the beginning of this path that she's on, a path she's still unsure how or when it will end.

Ava ran a program on the computer for it to search automatically, and if anything suspicious came up, it would send save the footage to a special file for her to review later. She got up from the couch and accepted the small box. Untying the bow, she opened the box to reveal a beautiful, simple copper ring. It fit her index finger perfectly. Ava also still wore Steve's saturn necklace that he gifted her. She wasn't the most materialist gal, but she deeply appreciated these kinds of gifts. They were something that she could hold onto always, keep with her as she traveled and not have to worry about losing it or having to abandon it.

"Thank you." She said, hugging Peter so tightly she nearly knocked the wind out of him. They stayed like that for a moment, time seeming to slow down. Ava could feel the warmth radiating out of her friend, the friend that she had kissed. The kiss had happened so quickly. The pair had barely any time to process it because it was such a small moment, Ava had probably used her speed a little bit without realizing it. But Ava remembered the ghostly feeling she had on her lips after kissing him, like she was missing something.

Still having their arms wrapped around each other, Ava looked up and glanced to Peter's lips before staring up at his eyes. She noticed that Peter had done the same. Her heart was starting to warm, starting to ache in a way that she wasn't familiar with. Ava slightly tilted her head and also reached up to get closer to Peter, and he naturally inclined his head down to meet her halfway.

This time, the kiss was slow and Ava couldn't think straight anymore. She was aware of the softness of his lips, his hands that rested on her back were starting to feel tighter as he pulled her closer so that there was no distance between them whatsoever, her fingers weaved into his wavy hair. Their bodies were in sync with each other, as if they had done this a million times.

Ava held onto Peter's biceps as she stepped back, running into the couch and settling down with Peter following. They continued to kiss as they laid there, growing more passionate. The two had no plans in stopping.

–

Dinner consisted of instant noodles. The pair were no chefs by any standard, and wouldn't act as such. Although Peter was a better cook than Ava by a mile. While Peter was in the kitchen boiling water in a pot, Ava was back to the computers and reviewing the folder. There was only two clips that the program put in, one that flagged an elderly woman because she had gone down the same street more than five times from the old apartment, but she recognized her; she was the neighbor that lived the floor below the apartment. A man from the hospital was flagged, who had a criminal record for a drug bust and being affiliated with a gang, but when Ava went to review more footage of the guy, she saw an hour after the clip he was leaving the hospital with a woman and newborn baby.

Also, Ava wasn't 100% completely focused. She couldn't wipe the small smile off of her face as she thought back to what happened just moments before. She still couldn't completely even process what just happened, the fact that it did. A feeling that Ava has always had, but had always been asleep, awoke. She wasn't sure when this feeling came to be, she didn't wake up one day and felt it. She just… _does_. She had never gone that far with Lip, although they nearly did a few times. Ava should be panicking and freaking out over the fact, especially since this was her best friend, Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man. But it felt right.

"Voila!" Peter entered the living room with two steaming bowls of chicken flavored noodles. "I garnished it. But don't eat the leaf. I picked it from the tree that's outside the window."

Ava laughed, picking up the leaf and setting it on the armrest of the couch, also scooting over to make room for Peter.

They ate in silence, and although it wasn't tense, it surely was a little bit awkward. How do they act after this? Were they dating? Were they in a relationship? Ava didn't want to put a label on it, she didn't have time to put labels on anything. She was starting to feel a creeping doubt. Maybe having sex was a mistake after all. Would it affect their work relationship? Would it affect their personal relationship? Fuck.

Peter got up and grabbed the remote that was on top of the TV. He turned it on to a channel playing the first Mission Impossible movie dubbed in French. Even he wanted to avoid the tension.

"Don't even think about switching the channel." Ava said as she noticed Peter scrunch his nose at realizing what was playing.

"Really?" He complained. Ava grabbed the remote from Peter so fast before he had the chance to skip the channel. "Hey!" He protested, although he still had a smile on his face.

They went back to silence, but now the room was filled with the action-packed sequences of Mission Impossible. Maybe Ava needed to calm about the anxious thoughts that have been filling up her mind. Maybe they could always be like this. Whatever "this" was.

A beep went off from the computer, which meant the algorithm found something else in the monitors. Ava set the bowl down on the ground to take a look. A young man was caught on the cameras earlier in the day at the hospital, and was now being caught on the cameras in front of the old apartment complex. Reviewing the footage showed that the man stepped inside the complex and old footage from the whole day hasn't shown him leaving before this time. The man had no criminal history, no way of knowing his name.

"I think I found someone." Ava announced to Peter.

"Who?" Peter questioned, leaning into Ava's personal space, which she didn't find herself minding at all.

"Not a clue." She responded. She set up a program of her own for the monitors to track the man when he came out again. Twenty minutes passed and he still hasn't come out. Maybe he did live in the apartment complex after all, a new tenant. It has been almost a month since that day.

"I miss patrolling." Peter sighed, leaning back against couch, bored of looking at nothing. His voice sounded sad, the homesickness hitting him hard. Ava tried not to think about New York. Tried hard not to think about everything and everyone she left behind. Grant should be starting middle school. Experiencing puberty. When would she see her little brother again? Will he look and sound different by the time she does?

In another lifetime, Ava would never have ran after Peter that night and never got hit with the Terrigen Mist. She wouldn't be Inhuman, nor know Peter's secret identity. She probably would have stayed in that crappy home with Marcus, but she would have continued to raise Grant. Ava would have mended her friendship with MJ and Harry over time. Ava would probably have developed a more serious relationship with Lip and who knows, stayed with him for the rest of her life. Peter would have left Ava's life, possibly for good as their paths continued to diverge after high school graduation. While this scenario used to pain her at the lost potential, it doesn't anymore. Yes, she's lost a lot, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Avery Douglass has a purpose.

Peter observed Ava as she was lost in thought, twisting her new ring around her finger. He softly smiled, knowing that Ava didn't miss her old life.

"I do miss New York." She admitted. That much at least, was true. She hoped that one day, she could go back without fear of being arrested.

"Hey, Douglass?"

"Yeah, Parker?"

"I'm really glad we're together in this." Ava wasn't sure if he meant in the mission or this strange relationship that was yet to be discussed, but she was glad too.


	26. Chapter 26

The man exited the apartment an hour later. Ava watched over the monitors, tracking his movements and creating a file on him. He was shifty, watching over his shoulder every few minutes. He definitely had something to hide, it was small enough to fit inside a pocket because he had no bag. He found something in that apartment.

Ava went to her room, searching through her bag. Her clothes, her suit, her metal band, her scrapbook, they were all here.

"Hey Peter!" Ava called out, getting up with her scrapbook in hand.

"Yeah?" He responded from his room.

"Do you have everything?" She asked, walking back to the living room. "From the old apartment? Did you leave anything behind?" She sat down, flipping through the book.

The pictures of her as a baby, as Grant as a baby, the pictures of her with Mj, with Harry, with Peter, with Lip, but wait. Where was the picture of her family? The last picture they had taken all together before her mom died? The only picture she had of her mother.

"I mean I think I forgot a shirt, but anything important-" Peter walked into the living room, seeing the distraught and fearful look on Ava's face. "-I have here."

"We have to go back to New York." Ava said. Her heart was racing so fast she feared it would jump out. She looked back to the monitors, the computer still tracking the man's movements. He had gotten into a car, someone else in the driver's seat that she couldn't make out through the tint of the windows.

"What's missing?" Peter asked. Ava didn't respond, her eyes peeled on the screens. He grabbed the scrapbook from her lap and flipped through the pages. "Oh no."

Suddenly, Ava's feed went dark. The CCTV footage access was locked. Someone hacked her and kicked her out. Ava's panic level began rising again. She wanted to speed out of this room, wanted to catch up to the location she saw the car last and run into it head on. The car would disintegrate at the speed she would be going. But she held herself back. If she reacted the same way she did when Peter got shot, she would destroy yet another hideout. And the man was likely already switched into another car with a new disguise. She wanted to kill him, but she knew she shouldn't. It wouldn't benefit her, it wouldn't benefit Peter, it wouldn't benefit Grant.

"We have to go to New York." Ava repeated, finally looking up at Peter. She had a determination in her eyes, telling Peter that she would be going with or without him.

"Ava…" Peter sighed, sitting down next to her.

Although, the instant he sat down, he felt a gust of air as she sped off. She came back seconds later, along with their backpacks. She raised a flat palm towards the computers and then made a fist and Peter could hear the crunching metal from within as she destroyed them. It was unnecessary luggage to carry around and Ava didn't want to leave any hints as to where they were going.

"Avery, if we go back to New York…" Peter tried to reason with Ava, but there was no reasoning with her at this point.

"Peter, _I'm_ going. With or without you." Ava said, picking up her backpack. "I shouldn't ask you to come with me. It's an extremely high risk. I'll most likely get caught and get sent back to the Raft. But I'd rather risk that than risk Grant getting hurt."

"Aren't you buddies with S.H.I.E.L.D?" Peter practically begged. He didn't want to lose her. What Ava didn't say was that not only could she be sent back to the Raft, but she could get killed. Because knowing Avery Douglass, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"I _was_. They've gone dark. There's no way for me to reach out to them." Ava was wasting time here. Ava suddenly realized something. What if that man was a distraction? He could have easily found the picture, sent it to his boss, and there was already someone else on their way to the United States, if there aren't already people there. She doesn't know how big this group that attacked Peter is. "If it was Aunt May, you'd already be on your way."

That got to Peter. "And you would try to hold me back." He countered, and Ava couldn't deny that. "But that's why we're going together. You're right. It's a huge risk, so, you need me." He grinned.

She smiled back, and they walked out together. There could be a high chance that someone is waiting for them outside. Ava grabbed Peter's hand to keep him going down the stairs and outside of the complex. She gave him a look that Peter dreads.

"Oh, come on." He complained, but steeling himself anyways for what's about to happen.

Ava held on to his neck and back and then pushed forward, running.

The pair first stopped at the Metro, where there were lockers lined up against the wall. They put away all of their passports save for their American and French ones, and also put away a good amount of money, not wanting to carry all of their currency just in case. Ava also put away her scrapbook. It was clearly too dangerous at the moment to keep it on her person anymore. Then they went to a man that was a "friend" of Natasha that got them inside of a ship headed to New York.

"Rose!" Peter exclaimed jokingly as he leaned against the railing. When he realized that Ava was not amused, he sat down on the bench next to her.

Ava wanted to run across the ocean, which she believes she could run on water no problem, but would probably pass out before even getting near the shore. She couldn't stand the idea of getting to New York last. They couldn't risk getting on an airplane with all of the stricter security; at least going by boat, there would be another man that could secretly get them out before having to go through customs.

"Grant will be okay." Peter placated, rubbing her back. He pulled her in for an embrace, and while she didn't protest, she didn't reciprocate it either. Her mind was hard to put together at the moment, it was hard for her to speak. Six days. That was definitely too late.

"X-Men." Ava muttered, breaking her silence.

"Huh?" Peter asked, breaking away to look at Ava.

"I have to contact the X-Men. Someone could stake Grant's house. Keep a watch on any suspicious people." She said rapidly, getting up and walking faster than the normal person to their room. Peter tried to keep up with the speedster.

She knew the number to the school by heart. She dialed using the rooms telephone and accepting the charge of the international call, waited on baited breath.

"Hello?" A boy said with a slight French accent. No way.

"J.P.?" Ava exclaimed, knowing full it was Jean-Paul.

" _Merde_." The Canadian muttered. " _Ava?"_

"The one and only." She grinned, sitting down on the bed. Peter stood there, bewildered.

"Who is J.P.?" She waved him away, returning to the conversation.

"Listen, Jean-Paul, I have an emergency. I need to speak with the professor. Or Ororo." She said, sounding serious again.

" _Hold on._ " He responded, and Ava could hear him put the receiver down. A few minutes later and she hears a British man with the most calmest and caring voice on the other end.

"This is Xavier, how can I help you Ava?"

"Professor! I have a brother, his name is Grant, and he might be in very big trouble." She started. She told him everything from start to finish about what had happened as Professor Xavier patiently listened, including the story of Peter getting shot, and telling him where Grant lives.

"Of course, Ava. I'll send Jean-Paul and Kitty to patrol his home. We will call you every day with an update until you can make it here." Xavier said warmly. Two people she trusts very much, which did a lot to ease Ava's mind.

Every day, Jean-Paul would call Ava with the same update: all clear. There were no strange people or cars camped out in front of Grant's home. No one ever rang the doorbell. She still couldn't get rid of the heavy pit in her stomach.

On the day that they made it to port, Ava and Peter were on high alert. Peter's attempt to keep calm consisted of humming and then occasionally singing "we will not get caught today."

Evidently, Peter had jinxed the pair. They were waiting in a hallway with rooms reserved for the employees, where a man would rendezvous with them and get them to exit the ship through a more secretive route. But 20 minutes had passed and still no one appeared. Ava was starting to get really antsy. Around the corner she heard a voice come through on a radio for a moment before it was quickly silenced. Clenching her fists, she felt the guns and the safety being turned off. There were only two people.

"We've been made." Ava whispered, preparing to grab Peter and run, but Peter protested.

"No, not again." He said, pulling away from her grasp and throwing his mask on to hide his identity.

"Hands up!" A female voice exclaimed as the two agents rounded the corner, weapons hot.

"If you guys want our autograph…" Peter started, as Ava controlled the metal on their weapons and ripped it from their grasps, "…All you have to do is ask!" He then webbed the pair's hands and feet, making them lose their balance. He took it a step further and also webbed them to the floor.

Ava and Peter heard from the radios that there were more agents waiting upstairs.

"Now can we do it my way?" Ava asked, hands on her hips.

"Fine." He groaned.

She sped them to safety. It was a good thing to speed off anyways, because there were a dozen agents waiting for them out on the deck. Ava got them all the way to the station, their old base. She stopped in her tracks at the front of the terminal entrance, and Peter had nearly fallen over if Ava hadn't caught her.

"You should work on your landing." He said harshly, but it just made Ava chuckle. He did have a fair point, though.

Peter unlocked the station using a six-digit code he had installed inside of a power box. The train tracks began to shift, as the station itself emerged from its depths. The rundown thing had been a halfway house for Ava. A stop before transitioning to her new lifestyle. She had considered for a brief moment that SHIELD would become her new home, but it was short lived as she was called to action by _the_ Captain America, a man who she would forever be indebted to.

Ava opened the doors, which had some resistance to it. It had been a while since either of them stepped foot inside of the place. The lights turned on automatically, revealing the heavy coating of dust blanketing everything. Peter plopped down on the couch, as a wave of dust flew off and made him sneeze.

"I'll let JP know we're here." Ava said, getting out her burner phone, which was starting to run low on minutes and messages, and notified the Canadian.

"So what's your story with him?" Peter queried. "You guys seem to know each other."

"What? I know Kitty, too." Ava said, startled by the apparent jealousy in Peter's tone. She didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed. This also gave Ava a sense of deja-vu, reminding her of when Lip was first introduced to her and how she thought Peter was jealous when really he had been reeling over MJ's betrayal. Unless…

"Peter, that night when Lip and Ian had come over, were you jealous of Lip?" Ava asked, turning her full attention on him, ignoring the message she had received from Jean-Paul.

"Avery, no." He scoffed, although he averted his eyes from her when saying this before returning his attention to her as he continued, "You should remember that I found out my girlfriend and best friend were in love with each other."

"Yeah, but…I don't think so." Ava said, a smirk starting to settle on her features. Peter was upset about that, of course, but Ava knew now that he was also jealous of Lip. "That same tone you're using right now? That's the same tone you used when you kind of grilled him that night. And also any other time he was brought up since then." At this comment, Peter began to blush, but continued to deny the claims. They both knew he was being jealous. "Pete, I don't want to play the jealousy game. JP and I do have a history, but not like you think." And Ava told him about her mission and how she had felt personally responsible for the boy, despite him only being two years younger than her. "And even if I _did_ have a history, with _anyone_ for that matter, you shouldn't get jealous."

"I know," Peter sighed, "And I'm sorry, but I can't help it. But I will work on it." He promised, which was good enough for Ava. The pair still hadn't officially called each other boyfriend and girlfriend, and they probably never will, but there was an understanding between the two that they are now committed to one another.

"Jean-Paul said that he's on his way." Ava said, sending out another message in acknowledgment that she understood.

 _JP: You need to stop using emojis as a way of communicating._

 _Ava: But it's so fun!_ And proceeded to use more emojis that didn't even make sense, which she knew would annoy and confuse JP as he a tried to figure out her message.

"I missed this place." Peter mused. Ava took another look at the place, this time paying attention to the details.

She noticed her original copy of _Cosmos_ , along with some other books stacked next to Peter's feet. The papers that included the countless research in trying to sort out Ava's identity still littered the tables here and there. There were even more papers of sketches and web fluid science that covered the surface, when Peter would constantly be improving on the suit. Not much credit is given to Peter for actually designing the webbing himself, having one of the strongest tensile strength and durability known to man. There was a drawer that was full of extra web fluid cartridges and also random metal pieces that Ava would practice on. The woman wondered if her old room in SHIELD was left undisturbed as well, to be like a museum as this station seemed to be for her.

"Yeah, me too." Ava whispered, picking up her old physics notebook. "I really forget sometimes where I came from. Having to worry about school, dating, taking care of Grant." At that last bit her voice cracked. "Peter, I don't know what I would do if I lost Grant." Actually, she does. And it wouldn't be pretty.

"Hey, hey, he's safe! Jean-Paul and Kitty have been watching him like a hawk. And he's safe. Maybe those guys haven't even come yet, or maybe, they were just trying to get us riled up."

"Like a distraction." Ava pondered, gears turning. "What if they're planning something somewhere else, and they wanted us off their scent?" But even that idea didn't seem completely right either.

At that, the monitor hummed to life with the notification that someone tripped the sensor at the terminal entrance. They both turned their heads to the shadowed figure that was approaching in the distance. As it neared the dim lighting, Ava could make out the features of none other than Jean-Paul.

She ran outside (at a normal pace) and gave him a big embrace. "Thank you so much for watching over him." She said into his chest. JP had grown! Ava was once taller than him, but now he was nearly towering over her.

"When did you get so tiny?" He joked, that slight French accent still present in his voice. She pulled away, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance. "But to be serious, it's no problem. He's a good kid."

"Hey, I'm Peter." The spiderling greeted, shaking his hand.

"Jean-Paul." The boy nodded curtly. JP was even a little taller than Peter.

"So Ava and I may have figured something out just a second ago, and has there been any other strange activities or new criminals on the scene here in town?" Peter asked as they all walked to the station to sit and plan.

JP thought for a moment. "Hm, no. And it's actually been pretty quiet this past week while I've been guarding Grant."

"Maybe they're planning something in France." Peter said, looking to the speedster.

"But that doesn't make sense." Ava shook her head. "So far, their MO has been going after us. They nearly killed you, and they've been tracking us down ever since, most likely trying to finish the job. Maybe…"

"Maybe they've been waiting for us to be in America so that we can get sent to the Raft." Peter finished. "There were agents at the ship, when there was no possible way they could have been alerted of us so quickly before we even got off. They tipped off officials."

"I think that was to slow us down. They don't want justice–if they did, they could have reported us when they knew where our safehouse was in Paris. No, they want to take us _down_." Ava's chest started to tighten. "They want revenge. I contacted Xavier before they could have had a chance to make it here. JP and Kitty were already at Grant's by the time they would've landed on a plane. They probably noticed some powered people guarding the area, and decided to go after someone that was left unprotected."

"Avery…" Peter said, at a loss for words. Jean-Paul watched on, completely confused at the situation. If what Ava was implying what Peter thought she was implying, then it's too late.

Without any warning, Ava had sped off. She knew the route so well, despite not having taken it in a year. She still knew this city like the back of her hand. She still knew her way home.


End file.
